A Glee Scary Story
by bleeker8
Summary: ND, the Warblers, and Vocal Adrenaline have all been invited to an all-expenses paid singing class on a deserted island near the Gulf Coast.  Not all is what it seems...
1. Chapter 1

1

As they approached the island, Sterling, the pilot, cut the motor of the jet boat. The sudden silence was eerie. Dead branches and fallen trees twisted out of the water like dismembered limbs. White cranes with their wing and tail feathers trailing behind them like ghostly wisps perched on those dead logs and took no note of the boats. Moss hung off the still standing trees like sticky, green spider webs.

Brody, the co-pilot, who looked exactly like a younger, skinnier version of Sterling grabbed a long pole and used it to help glide the boat toward the dock.

As they approached port, the collection of students from New Directions, the Warblers, and Vocal Adrenaline were all stunned to see a 9-foot-long alligator basking on the dusty sand beach. As the boat approached, the gator slipped into the brackish water and immediately disappeared.

"Where'd he go?" Finn, who had been trailing his fingers in the water as the boat skimmed along, whispered. "I can't see him anywhere." Finn gulped, picturing the alligator, propelled by his powerful tail, closing in on his hand, jaws open, ready to pounce…

Finn let out an inhuman shriek and pulled his hand out of the water.

"Yep, not too smart of an idea to dangle body parts around here." Sterling said.

"Was that a real alligator?" Mercedes asked wide-eyed.

"Yup," The pilot said.

"I want to go home." Brittany whined.

"Yeah, when we won a trip to an island off the gulf shore no one said the island was in the middle of an alligator infested swamp." Santana pointed out.

"Guess you should have read the tourist brochure a little closer." The pilot said. Kurt wondered if he was offended. He did not think it was a good idea to offend the locals. Especially one who hadn't smiled once during the almost half hour trip to the island and who looked like alligator wrestling was something he did for fun in his ample spare time.

"It's strangely beautiful here." Kurt tried.

Blaine gave him a look.

Santana continued oblivious to Kurt's attempts to make nice. "'Cept for the smell. Wonder what could be making that lovely scent?"

"Rot." The pilot said simply as the boat bumped into the wood dock.

Kurt might have chosen to add the adjective decrepit to the description of the dock but still he didn't want to be rude.

Everyone was squashed into the boats. Kurt was pressed up against Blaine. Not that he minded. "Quaint." He whispered.

He felt Blaine's chest rumble with a short laugh, then he felt Blaine's hot breath thrill his ear as his friend whispered, "Is that short for rickety?"

Nobody moved to get up. Sterling had begun talking again. And they were a captive audience. "Alligators are clever fellas. The can stay under water for over an hour. They can hide in the reeds and bushes. Blend right in. Careful of that. Don't go walking around without watching where you are stepping. Blend right in to the water too. They just wait you out. They can go a whole year without eating. Don't mind waiting for the right prey and the right moment to come along. Patient fellas. Nasty fellas." Sterling explained.

Brody pushed through the knot of teenagers to hop onto the dock and tie up the boat. "Careful as you get out. Some of the boards is loose. And this here's not the swimming beach."

"Yeah, we got that." Santana pushed past him refusing his offer of an arm.

Rachel shuddered at the thought of what could be in the water underneath her but then took the co-pilots outstretched hand and held her head high as she walked up to the end of the dock, peeking only occasionally to make sure she was on good footing. Being invited here for private classes with Olivia Divinity Wharton, Opera Diva extraordinaire was the honor of a lifetime-or-one of the first of the many great honors of her lifetime.

Bode did not offer Kurt his hand so Kurt stumbled out of the boat. He heard Sterling's big guffaw behind him. "Not many men around here got footwear like that. Not many women either."

Maybe being nice to the local was not entirely necessary, Kurt thought. Then again, maybe high-heeled boots were also not entirely appropriate for a water arrival on a remote island but Kurt loved the boots and they hadn't fit in his already stuffed suitcase. Ms. Olivia Wharton had style. Kurt intended to impress her.

"Be careful now." Sterling said. Kurt smiled back at him giving him the benefit of the doubt. "I don't just mean don't trip and fall on your face. I mean all of you-you just be careful here on Cranesbill Island."

Wesley and David exchanged a look. They were having second thoughts about having come on this trip. And there was something ominous in Sterling's warning. And something didn't feel right.

Puck was lifting Artie out of the boat and into the wheelchair for the bumpy-being- -an-understatement' ride up to a couple minivans that were parked at the end of the beach.

"If my spine wasn't already severed…" Artie attempted a joke as the chair crashed down over another piece of driftwood.

"Huh?" Brittany asked, "I could try carrying you."

"No, it's okay."

Various Warblers-all in uniform (did they ever wear anything else?)-and members of Vocal Adrenaline were crowding around them in an attempt to get as far away from the water's edge as quickly as possible.

"Hey, watch the cripple!" Artie said as someone crashed into his knee. Which probably would have hurt if he still had sensation there.

"Oh, where?" Brittany asked excitedly looking around.

Artie and Puck exchanged a look.

There was another surprise waiting for them at the minivans. They were greeted by none other than…


	2. Chapter 2

2

Jesse St. James.

Rachel gasped.

"He's up to no good." Wesley said darkly. "Something feels off about this whole thing."

"He mess with you guys too?" Finn asked. Even though he was no longer going out with Rachel it made his stomach hurt remembering how Jesse had dated Rachel just to trick her.

"Totally messed us up for sectionals 2 years ago. He transferred to Dalton. Seduced one of our guys then tricked him into revealing our song selections and secrets and then he transferred back one week out. Vocal Adrenaline crushed us at sectionals and crushed…" David's voice trailed off.

"One of our guys." Wes finished discreetly.

"Seduced?" Rachel whispered, "But Dalton's an all-guy school-" Suddenly both she and Kurt looked at Blaine who making a very drawn-out effort of examining a spot on his shoe.

"Omigod!" Kurt gave a stage whisper shriek.

David shook his head. "If I get Jesse alone after what he did to…"

Jesse seemed oblivious to the heated feelings building up around him-most of them negative. Rachel's feelings were a mix. She was still smarting from her break-up with Finn and she could easily remember how Jesse made her feel so special, so talented…she glanced at Blaine…and so, so used. Obvious he was good at making anyone feel like that whether he meant it or not. And he must be a good actor because he was definitely not gay…or was he? Was he that good of an actor that she thought he was in love with her and she wasn't even his _type?_

She folded her arms over her chest and her mouth set in a thin determined line.

"I suppose you have all been wondering why your three glee clubs of all the glee clubs in the nation were lucky enough to be selected for this rare-once in a lifetime-opportunity. This is the first time The Miss Olivia Wharton-The Divine O- has ever put on a voice workshop. It may be the only time that The Miss Olivia Divinity Wharton ever does. And you were all invited because of…"

There was no drum roll and Jesse didn't even get an enthusiastic response from the crowd. Puck noticed that only the youngest singers from vocal adrenaline seemed happy to see their old member. In fact, the hatred level from the third of the crowd that had competed with him might have even been a little higher than from the two teams that he had conned and cheated.

Puck hated Jesse too. He didn't care for how Jesse had played Rachel. He had a soft spot for Rachel. They were both Jews. What could he say? Jews have to stick together what with all the anti-Semitism in the world. "Frackin' Anti-Semite." He mumbled under his breath.

Kurt leaned over to Blaine and whispered, "You better fill me in and quick."

Blaine pretended he didn't hear Kurt but Wesley grabbed Kurt's arm and nodded, "Later."

"Well, it's all due to ME. Guess who is interning for The Divine O this year? And when she asked me if I had any suggestions for who she should invite to this once in a lifetime opportunity, I suggested the good old glee clubs from good old Ohio."

_Actually, when the Miss Olivia Divinity Wharton had been invited by the Cranesbill Island town council to do this weeklong workshop she had only very reluctantly agreed and only after she had received several mysterious late night phone calls. After she had agreed to the gig she didn't get out of bed for three weeks. She very dramatically asked Jesse to kill her on at least three different occasions. _

"_I probably won't survive this anyway. You should just put me out of my misery now. It will save a lot of other people a lot of misery. Please just kill me now. We can make it look like suicide."_

_Jesse thought that was a little much…sure Cranesbill wasn't New York or Paris…but still it was only a gig.  
>She had told Jesse that she didn't care who attended the class she asked him to just find someone…anyone. But when she had seen the final list she had looked dismayed. "They're all just kids." <em>

_Jesse supposed that she was disappointed. Maybe he should have contacted Julliard. Gotten the crème of the crop. _

"_Those poor kids." Olivia had muttered and then she'd gone back to bed for another week. _

_Olivia might not have loved the choices but when he showed the list to his other employer, Marty was excited. He clapped his hands when Jesse showed him pictures of the glee clubs online. Marty pointed right at Brittany. "She's perfect. Make sure she comes. She has to come."_

"_She's really probably the worst singer of the bunch. I mean, she can dance but…"_

"_Just make sure she is one of the kids selected…" Marty had bee the one to get him the internship with Miss Wharton, although, Marty said that he had never met Miss Wharton. "I'm writing a tell-all book and I need a spy on the inside." When Jesse had passed on the info about the invitation to Cranesbill, Marty had been ecstatic. "Now, I'll have a bestseller!" _

"Why us?" Someone from Vocal Adrenaline asked. "I thought you were too good for us now that-"

"Of course you guys! Who else? I have sung with each of you and believe you are all talented and in need of much improvement so…Welcome to Cranesbill! First I will take you to where you will be staying and let you relax. There will be a special town dinner tonight where you will be introduced to The Divine Diva Miss Olivia."

"Why does he keep talking about her like that? It makes her seem special." Finn whispered to Puck. Puck shrugged. "I mean its not like she's famous. I've never heard of her before." Most of the teens had not.

Kurt rolled his eyes. "Because she is one of the most famous operatic Sopranos currently still alive!" He whispered fiercely.

"And your classes will begin in the morning. Not too early. Miss Wharton likes to sleep in but they will be intensive and amazing. And now…let me show you Cranesbill." Jesse gestured behind him as Sterling and Brody both climbed into the driver's seats of each of the minivans. And the teenagers not knowing what else to do climbed in too…

"Where is our luggage?" Kurt whispered to Blaine-growing concerned because he would definitely need to change out of his travel clothes and into something much more appropriate for dinner. He had picked the perfect outfit for tonight's occasion. He couldn't believe it. He was going to have dinner with Ms. Wharton: Opera Diva and Broadway star.

Blaine just shrugged. He still wouldn't look Kurt in the eye.

As they first started driving, it was hard to tell what was swamp and what was island. Small, dilapidated buildings-shacks really-popped up every once in a while as they rounded a bend or took a turn. Most of the windows were shuttered or even boarded over and many looked like a strong wind would take them down.

"Is this area deserted?" Puck asked. There were no people anywhere to be seen-if they were around they had to be lurking in the shadows.

"No, the houses are just boarded up for hurricane season." Sterling answered.

"When's hurricane season? Rachel asked.

"Now." Sterling answered.

"I don't know how much good putting plywood over your windows does when it looks like a strong wind-a huff or a puff-could knock the whole house down." Kurt whispered.

Blaine gave Kurt a wan smile. Kurt put his arm through Blaine's. He hated to see his friend so sad and bothered. Whatever Jesse had done to him-or Blaine had done with Jesse-Kurt didn't care. He just wanted Blaine to return to his usual happy and confident self.

Mercedes looked out at the houses. "This is probably the poor, black part of town."

"Yep." Sterling clarified.

They drove to the other half of the island and the change was almost immediate. This was no longer swampland. They drove along the ocean. The trees were well-manicured palms. The houses were big-two, three stories-and most rocked a Victorian or Southern Plantation style. But on second inspection something seemed a little off here. Most of these houses looked abandoned too. Many were shuttered and closed up. There were almost no cars. Very few people out and about. In fact, the mansions looked more like creepy dollhouses in a cobweb infested and dust covered attic of some crazy old lady's haunted old house.

Most of the kids were beginning to sort of regret signing up for this trip. Even if it was all expenses paid.

"We used to be a popular tourist destination. The streets were lined with shops and cafes. People flocked here. But tourism has fallen off since the incident. Decimated our population. Hard to make ends meet here now. Most of us have left for the mainland."

"The incident?" Rachel inquired but Sterling pretended he didn't hear her. "What incident?" Rachel tried again.

"Look, we've arrived."

"Now this is more like it!" Santana said. This was the largest house on the island. The huge mansion had been converted into a hotel-resort. Perfectly maintained. With a huge driveway and miles of beautiful beachfront right on the gulf coast. The glee clue students and Miss Olivia were the only guests.

"Cranesbill is a little depressed economically but our guests deserve only the best." Sterling said finally mustering up a little bit of charm. Everyone felt a little ashamed that they had thought so badly of the island before they had even really arrived.

"Welcome," Jesse said excitedly as everyone exited. "We are surrounded by woods. There are 2 miles of garden paths on the inland side, a mile of beachfront, and once I get you settled in your rooms you should still have about 3 hours until dinner. The sun is shining. It is a balmy 88 degrees. Enjoy!"

Everyone followed Jesse in-excited to start their what they now thought would be a wonderful vacation.

No one noticed the girl staring at them through the hedge. She was tall and skinny with long wet blond hair. She was wearing a knee length pink nightgown. Tentacles of seaweed wrapped themselves around both her ankles and calves and up her left arm. Her neck looked red and sore. Water dripped off of her hair and nightgown. And she smelled just like the swamps they had just left. She smelled of rot.


	3. Chapter 3

3

"Come in. You've entered right into the main hall." Everyone fit comfortably-with plenty of room to spare- in the huge foyer.

"I can't wait to slide down that banister." Puck announced. The group gaped at the grand staircase that was the center of the house. It was three stories high.

"To your left you have the great room with a billiards room and a study in the back. To the right the parlor and formal dining room. All your meals will be served in there. Kitchen is in the back. The bedrooms are upstairs. Collect your luggage in the main hall and I will show you to your rooms.

"Your rooms are all on the second floor. Every bedroom has its own bath. And the balconies outside of your rooms are all connected. No using that to sneak into each other's rooms at night.

"Rachel, you and the girls from New Directions have the last bedroom on the right. Kylie, you, Pam, and Mystie have the room next door. And Trent and Lucas you are across the hall. Warblers. Last bedroom down on the left. Finn, Puck, and Artie you have the bedroom right next to them. And then two of the six Warblers can bunk in here." Jesse swung open the door to a room decorated for an old woman with lace doilies and large flower patterned wallpaper and one double bed. I wonder which two Warblers won't mind sharing a room." Jesse smirked.

"And Artie, I should have mentioned this before-" He gave a saccharine smile to boy currently in Brittany's arms while Puck was manhandling the wheel chair down the hall. "You won't have to be carried up and down the stairs every time. There's an elevator. Follow me. Of course it only works when the powers on. If for some reason the power goes off-you'll be out of luck."

Kurt heard Artie mutter, "I hate that kid," As Kurt entered his room and threw his suitcase on the bed. Blaine came up behind him and slid his arms around him. "I can't say the décor is my style but I'm kind of excited about the bed."

"I can tell you're excited." Kurt giggled. "But first, you have to tell me about Jesse. What was that all about?"

The other four Warblers hauled their stuff to their room and decided to go explore the garden paths.

"It looks a little like a labyrinth." Matt said, kind of excited. "Should we go get Blaine and Kurt?" Jason, the tall baritone asked.

"No," David shook his head. "I think they have something else in mind."

The Warblers made a group decision to change out of their uniforms to keep their formal clothes neat and clean for the dinner tonight and then they headed out onto the grounds.

Rachel had opened the door to a huge bedroom decorated for a fairy princess. There were four-four poster beds complete with pink canopies.

"My whole house fits in this one room." Santana muttered.

"I love it!" Rachel said clapping her hands and choosing the bed closest to the balcony door.

"I think I prefer the old lady bedroom Kurt and Blaine got stuck with." Mercedes sighed. She looked at her three roommates. They were not her three favorite glee members. Maybe Kurt and Blaine would let her bunk with them. That would be way more fun. Or not. Nothing like being a third wheel. Oh why, oh why did this have to fall over Chinese New Year, she thought, wishing Tina was here. Or wishing she was home and Quinn had won the coin toss for the last spot.

"Well, I'm hitting the beach." Santana said already digging out her bikini. "Coppertone here I come." Soon she was sans clothes.

And obviously sans modestly, Rachel thought primly. She looked away as Santana shimmied into her panties and clipped a very tiny bikini top into place.

"And what am I going to do?" Brittany asked.

"You're coming to the beach with me. Get your bikini on and we'll go convince the boys to come with us."

"Oh goody, Brittany said." Quickly changing with the same utter lack of modesty.

Rachel felt a sharp stab when she pictured Finn enjoying Santana in her bikini. If only she could convince Finn that it was in his best interest to get back together with her…

Rachel didn't bring a bikini. She chose a tasteful one-piece. But she wasn't going to put it on now anyway. She hadn't been invited to the beach and anyway she thought she would go try to find Miss Wharton-maybe the two of them could have a civilized, non-sexual conversation singer to singer.

"I've got something to do!" Rachel announced and hurried from the room.

Brittany and Santana left soon after. It didn't occur to them to ask Mercedes. Santana didn't even know if fat people went to the beach. Did they make bathing suits that big?

Mercedes waited a couple minutes in the room by herself, claiming the only bed left-the one right by the bathroom door-as her own before going down the hall to see what Kurt was up to.

Artie was back in his wheelchair. He was relieved the place had an elevator. He was always bothered when the group had to make special arrangements to accommodate him. It was one thing when Brittany picked him up to lay him in bed to mess around but hauling him upstairs in front of everyone like an Amazon warrior was a little embarrassing. No one else seemed to notice or say anything about it-except that Jesse kid. Artie knew that Jesse had forgotten to mention the elevator on purpose.

Artie could tell that Jesse was up to something. This thing-something was off about it all. It was not on the up and up. But he didn't care. Being on an adventure away from home-and with Brittany-that was good enough for him.

Puck and Finn were sprawled out on their beds. "This place is awesome!" Finn said.

"Did you hear them say Billiard's room?" Puck put on his best gentlemanly voice, "We will have to partake later."

"Was that an English accent? You sound like an android." Artie laughed and then there was a knock on the door. He went to get it.

Santana and Brittany popped into the room. "We're going to the beach," Santana said in a sultry voice. She and Brittany dropped the towels to reveal that they were very scantily clad. "Y'all care to join us? I am going to need someone to rub this Coppertone all over my body."

As if on cue she and Brittany collected their towels and sauntered out. "See you guys there!" Santana called out as she sashayed down the hall.

"Are we going?" Arties asked, hoping the answer was yes.

"I've got one word for you," Puck answered. "Bikinis! Dude, of course we are going."

"I don't know, Rachel won't like me being anywhere near Santana in a bikini."

"Rachel and you are no longer going out." Puck said. "Remember, you dumped her." He hoped right now Finn wasn't remembering why he dumped her. Puck kind of had a hand or a lip in that mess. So he opted to try to distract his friend. "One bikini. Two bikinis."

"Fine!" Finn jumped up to change.

"I'll find my sunscreen," Artie chimed in.

Mercedes was about to knock on Kurt's door but when she put her ear up to the door to make sure she wouldn't be disturbing anything she could hear that they were arguing on the other side. Fine, she thought feeling lonely and a little sorry for herself, I'll just go exploring on my own. Who knew what Rachel was up to? Mercedes didn't and she didn't really want to.

She headed out to see if maybe she could find a store and pick up a few provisions to tide her over until dinner.

"I just don't understand why you didn't tell me about it." Kurt began.

"It didn't come up." Blaine stated simply.

"What do you mean it didn't come up? There had been plenty of appropriate moments to mention that Jesse St. James, the male lead from Vocal Adrenaline- four-time National Glee Club Champion transferred to your school as a spy. And tried to seduce you."

"You haven't told me everything about your past either." Blaine tried to counter.

But Kurt just put his hands on his hips. "I think when I confessed that the stunt with Karovsky was my first and only kiss-that kind of summed up my past sexual history."

Blaine realized that his argument was on thin ice. He gave Kurt a half-smile; the kind of smile that always sent shivers of pleasure down Kurt's back (so already Kurt was ready to forgive him)-and then shrugged. "I am sorry I didn't say anything. I was kind of ashamed that I fell for him. It was stupid. I've been trying to pretend it never happened."

Kurt sat down next to Blaine. His expression was no longer angry he looked a little sorry for his friend.

"I was stupid. Lonely. I just wanted to be in love with somebody and Jesse said all the right things and did all the right things and he acted like he was crazy about me-then he transferred back and acted like he couldn't even remember my name. He made a point of calling me Brett when we ran into them at sectionals. He acted like it totally didn't happen. That I was crazy and made the whole up. Like I'd had some crazy infatuation-even obsession with him and that's why he had to transfer back to Vocal Adrenaline-a week before sectionals with our set list and intimate knowledge of all of our weaknesses. I can't believe Wes and David ever forgave me."

"I'm so sorry! Of course they forgave you –you didn't do anything wrong." Kurt said and he was sorry. But there was still a piece of this he couldn't let go. "What exactly did happen between the two of you? How far did you go?"

"Not far. We made out a few times. I guess he went for Rachel too. I bet he's not even gay."

"I can't imagine a lot of straight guys would be totally cool making out with another guy just for a set list. Could you see Finn doing that?"

The boys laughed.

"Did you really like him?"

"I liked who he pretended to be but no, I was just lonely. I just really wanted a boyfriend. He's not even that good looking. He always looks cocky. Like he thinks he's better than everyone. It was just a stupid crush. You are different. I love you. I think everything about you is wonderful. You're kind, you're smart, you're funny. You are everything I want."

"Are you just sweet talking me because you are still excited about the double bed?"

"Maybe." Blaine laughed.

"Well, it's working." Kurt leaned in and kissed his boyfriend passionately.


	4. Chapter 4

4

Olivia watched while her bags were deposited in her room. "Thank you." She nodded at Jesse and he took her pensive expression to mean she wanted to be left alone. She went and stared out the window. Not at the windows overlooking the ocean-blue and brilliant in the afternoon sun-but at the tiny side window that overlooked town. The Victorian houses of the "haves" part of town. She couldn't see the shacks of the "have not" part of town from her window. But that is what she was seeing. A three-room shack butted right up against the slimy swamp. With a sidewalk built up through the flood grass like a wood dock so that they wouldn't sink into the marsh anytime they went in and out. She pictured all the shacks in that part of town. The paint faded and chipping but colorful turquoises, purples, neon pinks like little orchid blossoms in an otherwise dark and dank green landscape. People trying to eke out something of beauty in a harsh environment.

Olivia was startled by the telephone. She made her way to the bedside. "Yes," she inquired.

"You left ussssssssssssss here." The voice on the other end was an eerie whisper, neither male nor female, sibilant like a snake.

"All alone to rot like everything else in the ."

Heart beating so fast it felt like a tiny bird was trapped in her chest she ripped the cord from the wall. The phone rang again. Unplugged. Olivia knew better than to answer it. But she also knew she had no choice.

"You won't esssssssssssssccape thissssssssssssss time."

Cranesbill Island had haunted Olivia in her dreams and nightmares for the past 20 years. Sometimes, it would even intrude on ordinary afternoons, rehearsals, and fancy dinners and leave her breathless and shaking. She was guilt ridden about what she had seen and what she had done. She was expecting something truly awful to happen while she was here. The fact that she was invited back here for the 20th anniversary of the-events-was not a coincidence. Someone knew who she was. Someone knew who she used to be. Someone-human or not-intended to make her pay.

And they should. She deserved it. That's why, finally, she had agreed to come. It wasn't the sheriff's threats or the Mayor's blackmail. Ultimately, it was her guilt. It was time to pay the piper.

Still, every instinct told her to run.

To collect herself, Olivia eventually made her way into the bathroom, plugged the tub, turned it to hot, and sank into the steamy water. She pulled the shower curtain around her to block out the sun streaming in from the balcony. It was too much for her right now. She was still back in the cool, damp shade of the swamp.

A while later Olivia was startled by a knock on the bathroom door. Jesse. "Miss Wharton, we have to leave for the interview you promised in fifteen minutes. I'll wait for you downstairs."

Olivia groaned. Sylvia. Sylvia still ran Cranesbill's newspaper. It was hard to keep a secret from Sylvia.

She stood and pulled back the curtain and then let out a shuddering scream. The words Welcome Home had been traced in the steam on the bathroom mirror. The words looked like they were bleeding.

She yanked the curtain closed and sank back into the tub trying with all her might not to cry. If her eyes weren't closed she might have noticed a black shadow moving on the other side of the curtain.

It took a few deep breaths and some unconvincing attempts to tell herself this was just a case of her overactive imagination before he legs stopped shaking enough to let her stand. She pulled the curtain back and the words were gone. They had been wiped off the mirror so that only the edges still held the evidence of the steam. Someone had wiped the mirror while she had been in the tub.

She rushed out of the bathroom and into her bedroom and let out a scream as she ran right into


	5. Chapter 5

5

A girl?

Yep. A black haired girl with a polka dot dress and a matching headband. They both toppled over and the girl, doing her best to ignore the fact that she was being pinned down by the bottom half of The Divine Olivia's naked body and that both of their faces were smushed into the carpet, extended a hand.

"Rachel Berry." The girl said with a smile.

"Olivia." Miss Wharton said still in shock and then she jumped up grabbing for her towel. "I'm so s—"

"I'm so sorry. I can wait in the hall until you are dressed. I tried knocking but then I thought maybe you couldn't hear me so I thought I would peak in. I'll wait in the hall-"

"No!" Olivia grabbed the girl's arm. "Don't go! Let me throw a robe on. Don't go!"

There was something reassuring about Rachael Berry. She talked non-stop and some how she was able to calm Olivia's frayed nerves.

"And so I said to myself, you are an musical artist, Miss Wharton is a musical artist. You have to find her and talk to her. You both share so much. Miss Wharton will understand you. You'll understand what I am going through artistically—"

Normally Olivia would be slightly offended to have her musical genius compared to that of a high school glee club member but Rachel seemed to have such an insistent forceful presence that Olivia was sure that no phones would ring while she was present, no phantoms would leave blood-curdling messages scrawled on mirrors. Olivia was safe as long as she could keep Rachel talking. And somehow, she didn't think that would be a problem.

What Rachel was going through artistically seemed to be centered on a boy named Finn. Olivia was all ears.

"And so you slept with his friend Puck. And Puck's the guy who impregnated Finn's last girlfriend while Finn was still dating her?"

"I didn't technically sleep with him. I'm actually still a virgin but I did lie on my bed with Puck and technically we were kissing."

Wow. Rachel's love life sounded like it should be on some sort of high school drama on Fox. But who was Olivia to judge? She'd had her share of mishaps in the bedroom. Hopped in too many beds she shouldn't have.

"Us artistic types are prone to the dramatic." The diva said in an attempt to comfort the girl. "You know what? I have to leave for an interview. Would you care to accompany me?"

"Would I? I'd love to!"

Olivia hoped that maybe her new human amulet would ward off unwanted questions and nosy newshounds as well as ghosts from her past. "C'mon I think they have a car waiting for us."

Mercedes was walking into town to look for some kind of convenience store- something that sold some kind of treat. She was craving salty. Tots would be nice but she knew that was a long shot. She'd settle for a bag of potato chips.

She knew it was stupid to feel sorry for herself. She was happy for Kurt. Happy that he was safe at his new school away from the bullies at McKinley high. Happy that he had a boyfriend. It's just that Mercedes was unhappy. She hated that he now went to Dalton. Even though they sat up late talking several times a week on the phone, she missed him. Tina was fine and all-but she was a little obsessed with Mike these days-and it just wasn't the same. Kurt got her. He laughed at all her jokes. She got most of his.

She was lonely. And she didn't see that changing anytime soon.

And that's when she saw Him standing there. He was a tall, trim black kid about her age. He was dressed a little too much like their hillbilly boat captain Sterling (is this the local fashion) for her taste but the rest of him was fine. She smiled at him.

He tipped his head at her and gave her a grin in return.

"Do you know someplace I could buy something salty. I'm craving something salty to eat."

"Jensen's corner store is rather limited but it's your best shot."

"And it would be located where?" Mercedes asked.

"C'mon, I'll walk you there."

"My name is Mercedes."

"Like the car!" The young man smiled. "I'm James."

And you are a hunk, Mercedes thought. Maybe I am not going to be as lonely as I thought on this trip.

Mercedes and Jimmy talked easily as they walked. He kept making her laugh. What she didn't notice is that whenever she looked away from him to look around at what looked like a lot of abandoned buildings huge wounds would bubble up onto Jimmy's neck and blood would seep through the top of his overalls and pool into his high tops. But whenever Mercedes looked back Jimmy was restored to all his cuteness.

Too soon, Jimmy said. "Jensen's is right up there." He pointed to a disappointingly small and run down building. She guessed her assumption of no tots was an accurate one. She'd be lucky for some Pringles.

Just then a long Cadillac passed them by and she saw none other that Rachel Berry excitedly waving at her from the backseat.

She turned back to Jimmy, "That my friend Rachel…" But Jimmy was gone. And Jensen's wasn't open. And when she peered in the window to find out its hours she noticed that the store was completely empty. It was permanently closed down. And it looked like it had been a long time since it had been open for business.

Mercedes shook her head quickly reconsidering the whole lonely thing. Looks like it will be her fate after all because all she could say about James leading her to Jensen's abandoned store and disappearing was, "Well, that was rude." She hoped she didn't see him again. Well, that wasn't entirely true. He was pretty cute. Plus, she wanted to yell at him.


	6. Chapter 6

6

Rachel was dying inside. This was so exciting! She was accompanying Miss Olivia Wharton opera diva and Broadway star to an interview (and probably photo shoot) at a real newspaper office. Of course she had known that she and Miss Wharton would hit it off but…this was exciting and it was only going to get better…if they could find the headquarters of the newspaper…

"This seems like a really small town," Rachel said unhelpfully as the driver pulled the car over to consult a map. "It shouldn't be hard to find."

"It's not," Olivia said testily. "Turn left at Juniper. It's the next street."

Rachel looked at Olivia. "Have you been here before?"

"I saw it as we were driving in." The Diva mumbled. "It's important when you are a famous person to always know where you are and where you are going."

Rachel wrote down that nugget of advice word for word. Mapquest was going to be bookmarked on her laptop from now on.

The newspaper office, looking as old and run down as everything else in town, was one block up Juniper. The building had originally been painted red. It seemed as empty as the other buildings on the street. Another car pulled in right behind them and a handsome, dark haired man, exited quickly. Rachel saw Jesse start to wave at the man but the man completely ignored him. Rachel looked up and down the street, finding it strange that those were the only two cars she had seen on this entire trip.

"Miss Wharton," The man approached with a hand outstretched. "I write for the Virginian Sun. I have been contacting your people for months about getting an interview. Marty Ramirez. I think you have heard of me." He gave the singer a meaningful look.

She smiled politely extending her hand. "We have not had the pleasure. I let 'my people' take care of all my arrangements. It is not something I handle personally."

"Of course," The reporter smiled confidently. "I took this opportunity of you coming back to Cranesbill to…"

"I think you have your facts wrong-" Olivia clarified. "I have never been to Cranesbill."

"My mistake." Marty Ramirez did not really apologize. "I am hoping to sit down with you. I am writing a book-

"I am so sorry," Miss Wharton brushed past him. "I am only up to doing one interview during my trip here and that privilege has already been promised. Maybe you can contact my people and we can set something up if I am ever in Virginia. "

It was clear from her dismissive tone that Olivia never planned on going to Virginia if that is what she had to do to avoid Marty Ramirez.

The reporter followed them in anyway.

Rachel noticed that although the place looked clean, cozy, and used often it still looked in need of an update. On the desks sat typewriters and there was a broken photocopier in the corner. There were no computers. There was also nobody working or at least anyone in the front to greet their VIP. Miss Wharton's visit had to be the most exciting event this tiny of a town ever got to report on.

Unfortunately, Rachel's assumption that not much had ever happened or would happen in Cranesbill was dead wrong.

Finally, an older woman made her way up from the back. "I'm sorry. I was letting Pepper outside so he didn't get all riled up. We don't get much company."

Finally the woman held out her hands, wiping them first on a pair of ill-fitting (in Rachel's opinion) and not super clean jeans. "Miss Wharton. It is a pleasure to meet you. My name is Sylvia Horton. I'm here the owner, editor and pretty much only employee of the Cranesbill Clarion."

Miss Wharton bowed graciously revealing the reporter behind her.

"And look what the cat dragged in!" Sylvia snorted.

Rachel hoped she wasn't referring to Miss Wharton as a cat who'd drag anything in. Ms. Horton's manners were atrocious.

Miss Wharton may have been thinking the same thing because she said, "He's not with me."

"My god-only took you twenty years!"

Sensing that the rest of the guests were at a loss, Ms. Horton quickly recovered and explained. "Mr. Ramirez here got his big break at the Cranesbill Clarion. Started delivery papers for me when he was 12."

"I was writing my own articles when I was fifteen." He finished proudly. "Many of my articles end up being reprinted in newspapers all over the country."

"Don't go tooting your own horn. The syndication was due more to the subject than to the author." Ms. Horton clarified.

"What was the subject?" Rachel asked, perennially curious and without the filter that tells people when they should stay out of something that is not any of their business. '

"You were what? Seventeen?" Ms. Horton started. "1991"

"That was the spring- five," Mr. Ramirez looked right at Olivia as if challenging her, "teenagers were murdered here in Cranesbill."

Rachel's eyes went wide. She noticed that the folder than Marty was holding slipped from his hands, yellowed newspaper clipping spilling out like a fan in front of Olivia. She refused to look at the pictures of the young adults collected in those articles. Rachel bent down to help pick them up. She picked up the first newspaper clipping and gasped when she realized that the boy in the photo looked just like Kurt. She quickly stuffed everything in the folder. She tried handing it back to Mr. Ramirez but he seemed distracted so she held on to it.

"Six. Six people were killed." Ms. Horton corrected. "Seven if you count what happened to the boy Jimmy."

"That wasn't related to the other murders." Marty's shoulder's sagged a little.

"Evil is always connected. Evil begets evil." Ms. Horton said and Rachel shivered.


	7. Chapter 7

7

The rest of New Directions left the beach to go change for supper. Brittany let Puck push Artie's wheelchair because something was making her nervous. She didn't think that it was just that it was hard to manage a towel, a bottle of suntan lotion, an almost full diet coke, a hairbrush, and the handfuls of beautiful shells she had collected along the beach.

"Wrap them up in your towel. They'll be easier to carry." Santana instructed watching Brittany bend down for the third time to recollect the shells she had dropped. . "But not the pop! The pop will spill."

Brittany had taken a dip in the ocean after being reassured that there weren't any gators or sharks and poisonous jellyfish and she was dripping wet. Her towel was soaked and water was still dripping off her hair and running down her body in salty rivulets. Santana had not gone in the water. The boys had but all of them seemed to have dried off quickly in the sun.

Brittany kept glancing toward the woods. And she could almost swear she kept seeing someone watching them. Of course, when she looked again there was no one there. When she mentioned it to Santana her friend had glanced around quickly and then shook her breasts at the woods. "It's those people from Vocal Adrenaline. They're probably spying on us."

Brittany had fallen behind and she glanced anxiously at the woods one last time. Part of her did not think that it was the kids from Vocal Adrenaline. She doubted that they would make her spine feel like an insect was crawling up her back on the inside of her skin.

What she did not see was that just behind the tree line, the same girl with the long wet, dripping blonde hair and the soaking wet pink nighty was holding out her hand toward Brittany offering her the broken and barnacled shell she held out in her palm.

Upstairs, the girls changed quickly.

"C'mon Brittany, Hurry. We are all ready and you haven't even headed to the shower. Should we wait or can we head down without you? I'm hungry." Santana said.

"Go. I'll have to blow dry too." Brittany yelled as she hopped in the shower. And as the hot water pounded on her she began to sing, confident that nobody could hear her over the spray.

I'm just an average girl with an average life

I work from nine to five, hey, hell, I pay the price

All I want is to be left alone in my average home

But why do I always feel like I'm in the twilight zone

I always feel like somebody's watching me

Who's playing tricks on me

I always feel like somebody's watching me

When I come home at night

I bolt the door real tight

People call me on the phone, I'm trying to avoid

But can the people on TV see me or am I just paranoid

When I'm in the shower I'm afraid to wash my hair

Cause I might open my eyes and find someone standing there

People say I'm crazy, just a little touched

But maybe showers remind me of Psycho too much

That's why...

I always feel like somebody's watching me

Who's playing tricks on me

I always feel like somebody's watching me

Tell me it can't be

Brittany was belting out the song so loud and enthusiastically that she didn't hear the bathroom door open or see that shadowed figure creeping toward the shower.

I always feel like somebody's watching me

Who's playing tricks on me

I always feel like somebody's watching me

Tell me it can't be

Suddenly the shadowed figure raised it hands, pushing them against the white plastic shower curtain. Brittany caught the dark hands reaching for her from the corner of her eye. She gasped taking in a whole mouthful of water. The shadowed figure grabbed her and Brittany slipped in the tub gurgling and sputtering. Finally her mouth formed an O in a blood-curdling scream.

"Brittany!" Santana threw back the curtain laughing. "It's just me. You were singing about somebody watching you. I thought I'd psycho you. It was just a joke. You okay?"

Brittany nodded, rubbing her elbow where she had crashed into the tub. Santana, totally made up in an outfit and make-up that were probably a little sexier than the occasion called for, leaned over and kissed Brittany's elbow and forehead and then her lips. "I'm sorry. It was just a joke."

"Yeah, I guess it's funny if I think about it long enough." Brittany sounded doubtful.

"See you downstairs."

Santana gave Brittany one more kiss and then flounced out of the bathroom. Brittany shivered and then hopped out of the shower. She raced out of the bathroom to get dressed. Neither girl noticed the face staring in their window. Big blue eyes opened so wide they would look surprised if they weren't so vacant. The water dripped off her blonde hair, running down her face like tears. 


	8. Chapter 8

8

Usually, Olivia preferred to be fashionably late. She hated the going to the party part. She would usually warm up and be the life of the party. Parties she liked. But getting to them was always hard. Going to them made her feel almost unbearably anxious. She was always afraid that she would do something small that would give away that she wasn't as polished, as confident, as talented as maybe everyone thought. She had enhanced details of her biography. She wasn't the only famous person to do so. Her real mother hadn't really been the vice-president of the local chapter of the Junior League. She'd never been president of anything except maybe of buying the drinks during the local dart league tournaments but Olivia doubted anyone at the Hang Around Bar would have trusted her mom with that much responsibility. Her father, too, had done more drinking than showing up at any job. He wasn't really from Texas. Closest he came was working at a Texaco. There were always little things that could give her away. They never did, though. She was charming, she was funny-if a little bawdy-she was authentically herself even if some of the detail s in her bio were stretched.

But this time she was actually a little early. She was more anxious to stay in her rooms alone than risk someone finally clocking her. Even though she knew that someone here knew her secret. Knew the thing that she was ashamed about and tried to hide by exaggerating her bio. Someone here knew her secret. Otherwise, she never would have been invited.

And she was pretty sure Marty Ramirez had some suspicions about her past. That's why she had been avoiding him and his "interview" for over a year.

Olivia stopped in the front hall and looked for a mirror. Secrets never stay hidden forever. Might as well look good when the shit hits the fan. She primped in the mirror. Suddenly, her hand flew up to her mouth. In the reflection she saw another ghost. A boy from her past. A boy no one had seen in 20 years.

"Oh, my god. I didn't mean to startle you." Said a real person behind her. "Ms. Wharton! I'm a huge fan."

"Oh that's okay. I'm a little distracted about something."

"I'm Kurt Hummel." The young man held out his hand.

"And I'm Miss Olivia Divinity Wharton. Some people call me the Divine O." She grabbed not just his hand but took Kurt's arm. "Care to accompany me to this fine-" Olivia was at a loss for words. She didn't really know what to call the strange Cranesbill style reception they were about to attend. "You must be a Warbler." She said motioning at his uniform.

"Yes," Kurt said with a huge sigh. "I mean yes. I'm enthusiastic about the Warbler's but not this outfit. They insisted we all look the same like Warblers…I had an amazing ensemble all picked out-sorry."

"Darling, I love a good fashion story. If they wouldn't let you wear the outfit you could at least describe it for me."

And the two entered the party-for lack of a better word-together.

The party was a kind of dowdy affair. Except for the teenage guests, who all glommed together in one corner unsure of what to do, everyone else was middle-aged or older. Besides the guests of honor there were about 30 people.

Marty leaned over and whispered, "And that-is the entire population of Cranesbill."

Rachel wished she had known the reporter was going to be here. She still had his folder of news clippings. She would have returned it. Of course, she wanted a chance to read it first.

Finn leaned over. He'd been listening in. Not that he had any interest in what the handsome man had been whispering to Rachel. He didn't care. It was just a coincidence that they were standing near each other anyway. He hadn't tried to get a place near Rachel. "This is it? Is Cranesbill a retirement community?"

Marty laughed. "No. There's Brody. Although Brody may be one of the few people under the age of fifty. "

"No, almost one who was young or had kids has moved away from Cranesbill. It is a dying town. I think this is their last gasp. And I think they have a mistaken notion that getting Miss Wharton to give a concert will bring people back. Cranesbill was never big but it used to have a population of over one hundred. Now they are lucky to even get close to thirty on a sunny day."

"What happened? Why did everyone go?"

"Murder." Marty said dramatically. "Murder happened."

"Oh," Finn said.

The appetizers were delicious and they even let the teens have a small glass of champagne. Olivia had three or four large glasses. She slipped off to the powder room before the presentations started. She peed and then went to wash her hands in the tiny sink but before she could turn the water on. There was a gurgle, and the drain started backing-up a moan of blood bubbled into the basin.

_Run, Run, Run._ She fled the bathroom and almost made it to the front door but she found Sheriff Capon there standing in front of it.

"Going somewhere?"

"I just need a breath of fresh air."

"I think the festivities are about to start." And he led her back into the main room.

The tallest, skinniest woman-also over 50-that Rachel had ever seen took the podium.

The mayor, the sheriff, and Sterling were clumped together in front of the stage. She moved up behind them.

"Maybe we should do it tonight?" The sheriff said. "I think she's getting spooked."

"Nah," The mayor said. "We need Friday night's concert. Marty promised to help us advertise beyond the reach of the Cranesbill Clarion. People will be coming here to see Miss Wharton perform. And then they will come back when they see that we are a hidden gem in a beautiful location. Let the fireworks happen Friday. After we've milked this for all we've got."

"I don't know. I think letting people have some answers-" The sheriff answered.

"Friday." Sterling said one word. He sided with the Mayor and the argument was over.

"Let me introduce the rest of the city council. I'm Maya Janes, this is Sterling Silver, (Rachel could her Finn and Puck giggling somewhere behind her) and our wonderful mayor Brad Sunday."

The mayor claimed the podium. "We have been working for months for a special treat for this community. The Opera singer and Broadway star Miss Wharton will be in residence over the coming week and then she and her students will perform a beautiful concert for us-and hopefully many more guests-in our newly built pavilion on Batten Beach. Although the weather is supposed to be a little stormy for the rest of this weekend." To punctuate his words there was a flash of lightening and then a startling clap of thunder. "The weather is supposed to be Florida perfect for our Friday night spectacular. We hope that this is the first of many fantastic concerts to be performed in our new outdoor pavilion. And the first of many talented and famous people who will help revitalize Cranesbill. Restore this beautiful and wonderful town. And now we have a small preview of Friday night. I believe Ms. Wharton is going to perform for us and then the Glee kids under the direction of 4 time national glee champion Jesse St. James, intern to said Ms. Wharton, will also perform. Let's give a warm, warm welcome to Miss Olivia Wharton. I hope this week will convince you to call Cranesbill your home away from home."

Miss Wharton took the stage and performed-Rachel couldn't believe it- a mash-up! It was beautiful but it was also giving Rachel the chills. She didn't know if it was the mezzo-sopranos amazing voice or the fact that the combination of the two Billie Holiday songs Summertime and Strange Fruit-utterly different from each other- made an eerie combination.

Summertime,

And the livin' is easy

Fish are jumpin'

And the cotton is high

Oh, Your daddy's rich

And your mamma's good lookin'

So hush little baby

Don't you cry

Southern trees bear a strange fruit,

Blood on the leaves and blood at the root,

Black bodies swinging in the southern breeze,

Strange fruit hanging from the poplar trees.

One of these mornings

You're going to rise up singing

Then you'll spread your wings

And you'll take to the sky

But until that morning

There's a'nothing can harm you

With your daddy and mammy standing by

Pastoral scene of the gallant south,

The bulging eyes and the twisted mouth,

Scent of magnolias, sweet and fresh,

Then the sudden smell of burning flesh.

Here is fruit for the crows to pluck,

For the rain to gather, for the wind to suck,

For the sun to rot, for the trees to drop,

Here is a strange and bitter crop.

Summertime,

And the livin' is easy

Fish are jumpin'

And the cotton is high

Your daddy's rich

And your mamma's good lookin'

So hush little baby

The applause, hesitant at first grew in enthusiasm. Olivia's voice was breathtaking. But the applause did not drown out the banging from the window behind Miss Wharton. The diva closed her eyes and then steeled she strode over and opened the curtain. On the other side of the window was a girl with long blond hair. Both Ms. Wharton and the girl, tall, skinny with long blond hair screamed.

"Brittany," Artie exclaimed, wheeling forward.

Santana jumped up and opened the window.

"I got lost." Her blond friend explained. I couldn't find the door back in."

"Why didn't you just use the door you went out of?" Santana asked while Brittany climbed through the window.

"Because I'd already tried that one." Brittany explained.

"We are just about to perform," Rachel said in a stage whisper.

"Good then I am not late." Brittany smiled with relief.

"And that was an attention getting entrance. I'll have to try it myself sometime." Olivia joked and got some polite laughter. The diva was still pale and if you looked closely you could see her hands shake.

Rachel almost missed her cue for places because she saw Sylvia Horton corner the Mayor. "Hurricane's coming. You should send our guests back to the mainland. Miss Wharton can conduct her classes there. I bet the college would host."

"It's only a storm."

"This is only a storm yes. But a hurricane's coming I can feel it in my bad knee and channel 6 is predicting it will hit tomorrow."

"I can't let some incompetent weatherman mess up the best chance for revival that Cranesbill's had in twenty years."

"At least warn the guests and let them make up their own minds."

"I can't do that...Cranesbill needs this."

"What Cranesbill doesn't need is any more bad publicity. Inviting a whole bunch of high school students to an island and then stranding them there for the storm of the century will not help Cranesbill's reputation. God forbid anything happens…"

"Nothing will happen, Sylvia. I guarantee it. First hint that this weather system changing from a few incoming storms to a hurricane and we'll move the kids. But let's just hope it doesn't come to that. This is the only thing Cranesbill's got left in its magic bag of tricks. This falls through-I think we're doomed."

Jesse St. James jumped on stage. Each club only knew what part of the production they were responsible for and Rachel found his choices and the way they fit together so cacophonous and awful that the number actually, surprising worked.

Jesse was singing Music of the Night from the Phantom of the Opera, he had Puck come in with his guitar to CCR's Bad Moon Rising with the New Directions backing Puck up during the chorus and Finn ad-libbing howling at the moon like a werewolf. In the middle, Vocal Adrenaline danced to Thriller's musical interlude, then he had David and Wes, backed by acapella beat boxing, doing Will Smith's Nightmare on my Street with Blaine singing Strange People by the doors. Jesse trailed off to end the set with a couple more haunting verses from Phantom. The best part of the performance was that nature decided to participate in the mash-up too. Lightning flashed and thunder roared throughout the song covering up the unpracticed and messy transitions. The lights even flickered on and off a few times.

My god, thought Olivia, that is the strangest song selection I've ever heard but she had told Jesse to do a mash-up of a few creepy songs. She was hoping to send a message to the person in Cranesbill who had figured out her secret and had arranged for her to come here. She knew that person did not mean her well. And she wanted to warn that person that it would be best-best for everyone-if Olivia were left alone. She thought most of the audience looked on edge after the brief show. She knew that not one person in the audience from Cranesbill had forgotten the significance of this weekend's date. Some of the audience actually looked terrified. After the show, no one seemed inclined to linger. A few people shook Olivia's hand but most just nodded politely and fled from the reception into the stormy night.


	9. Chapter 9

9

Sterling and Brody escorted the teens back to the hotel in the two minivans where the kids changed quickly and then congregated in the cozy great room and in the game room. The staff had set out a buffet of junk food much to the teen's delight. Sterling and Bode rounded up a bunch of flashlights, candles, and matches.

"Just in case," Sterling said, tipping his hat. "If you need anything just let us know." He muttered to Jesse, who seemed to have taken on the role of trip guide. "We're heading home."

There wasn't a TV. There was no cell phone reception on the island. "Games it is!" Said Puck gigging into a cabinet that was full of board games. He pulled out pictionary, trivia pursuit, clue, and chess. Life and Chutes and Ladders."

"Wait," Rachel said, as Jesse exited the room to help Miss Wharton upstairs. "I think we should all talk. We need to call a meeting."

This announcement was followed by a bunch of groans.

"We don't need no meeting." Santana said. "We have the night off. The last thing we need is for you Rachel to call some boring meeting about our set lists, or costumes, or to give us a lesson in musical theory."

"No, it's not that. I-" Rachel was rarely at a loss for words and it so stunned everyone that they finally they her speak.

"I think we may be in danger."

The stunned silence continued and then a couple people busted up laughing.

"No, I'm serious guys. There is something going on here. IT doesn't feel right."

"Rachel-" Finn started.

"No, guys, I mean it. I'm scared."

Mercedes leaned over to Kurt and whispered, "Drama queen."

Wes and David were the only ones who seemed to be taking Rachel seriously. As the leaders of the Warblers, they had had a few whispered conversations about how something seemed off about the whole thing but the plates of chocolate chip cookies, the cups of twizzlers, and bowls of cheesy popcorn were making them feel as cozy and safe as everyone else.

"Okay, guys Cranesbill was the sight of a massacre."

"An Indian Massacre?" Mercedes asked.

"Is there going to be some poltergeist buried under the house," Brittany clapped excitedly.

"No, some teenagers were murdered here."

"Twenty years ago, Rachel," Finn said gently. "That was twenty years ago."

"It's hurricane season! There's a storm coming!"

"The sheriff said this will weather will blow over tonight."

Rachel's voice was rising. "The mayor and the city council are up to something. I saw them whispering tonight at the reception."

People were moving from skeptical to annoyed. "I know you didn't get a solo tonight," Santana said. "But we don't need some big theatrical performance from you right now to make up for that."

"Guys, I'm serious. I've never been more serious. I think we should escape tonight while we still can!"

The whole group laughed at her. One of the girls, Mystie, from Vocal Adrenaline asked, "Is she on meds for this."

Rachel ran from the room. Yes, there may have been a few tears. But she wasn't running upstairs for a dramatic effect. Although, her exit did kind of qualify as dramatic. She was going to get the folder Marty had dropped earlier. If she could just show them the photos, read them the articles. Six teenagers were killed in Cranesbill. The perpetrator had to be someone from town. There had been bad weather and no one else-no one at all- could get on or off the island. Most of the victims were found strangled and drowned and then left in strange places all over town. One of the victims was never found. And the perpetrator was never caught. The serial killer was still alive and well-and Rachel knew-up to something on Cranesbill island. She had to get the folder. The folder would convince everyone.

She flew to her room and crossed over to her bed. And just as she was about to open her suitcase to grab the folder, a hand reached out from under the bed and grabbed her ankle.


	10. Chapter 10

10

"Is she crazy?" Mystie asked everyone after Rachel had left.

"No, just high strung." Kurt replied.

"There might be something to what she's saying." Wes tried giving her the benefit of the doubt. "Not the crazy parts- but there is something going on here. Something more than meets the eye."

"I don't know." Finn replied.

"C'mon guys. This is just a fun vacation. Take a couple hours of singing lessons in the morning; hang out on the beach for the rest of the day. It's simple. There isn't any conspiracy-this place isn't haunted. We do a little work, have a lot of fun, and put on a little performance before we go home." Kylie, a member of V.A., explained.

"There were murders here." Finn said.

"You said yourself they were twenty years ago." Matt, one of the Warblers said.

"I know," Finn replied.

"He just doesn't like seeing Rachel upset. He's still not entirely over her." Puck explained.

"Oh, yes I am."

"Then why were you so concerned yesterday that she might not like you on the same beach with other girls in bikinis." Puck continued.

"Rachel's kind of a prude."

"Dude, that still doesn't explain why you cared what she thought. Fine." Puck continued. "Has anybody else seen or heard anything strange?"

"You mean like the dead girl in the woods who keeps following us around?" Brittany asked simply.

"Wha?" Artie would have jumped out of his wheelchair- if that were possible.

"I think she's a ghost. She never changes her clothes." Brittany explained. Mercedes leaned over to Blaine. "Brittany still believes in Santa Claus." The Warbler's dapper lead singer nodded. He'd heard about Brittany.

Nobody knew what to do with Brittany's big announcement so instead they divided into teams and began to play. Vocal Adrenaline claimed the pool table. Of course. Wes, David, Blaine, and Matt started picking out pie wedges.

"Kurt?" Blaine asked pointed to the seat next to him.

"Sorry," The countertenor shrugged. "I think Pictionary wins out." He plunked down next to Mercedes against Santana and Brittany.

Everyone else gathered around Clue.

A moment later they were playing the games by flashlight and candlelight because the lights flickered off and did not come back on.

Upstairs, Rachel sneaker collided with her attacker's nose. She could feel it clawing its way up her leg. She kicked out as hard as she could (the self-defense class her dads had made her take finally paying off). She heard a crunch and a very human ouch!

She sat up and when she had calmed down enough, she whispered. "Jesse?"

"Sorry, don't kick me again!"

"You scared me!"  
>"I know. I'm sorry." Blood was pouring out of Jesse's nose. "I snuck in here because I wanted to talk to you but I hid when you came in because I was afraid you were one of your roommates. I've couldn't help but notice there is a little love lost between them and I."<p>

"Rightly so." Said Rachel still trying to recover.

"Can I have a towel or something?"

Rachel pointed to the bathroom. "You can get it yourself."

Jesse struggled to his feet then Rachel heard water running in the bathroom. When Jesse finally emerged, she began right up. "And what exactly did you want to see me about?"

Jesse shrugged. "I just felt like we left things on a bad note," Jesse started. "I just wanted to apologize again."

_Again?_ Rachel thought. _I don't remember the first apology._

"I did really like you. I think you're awesome. I think Miss Wharton's plan for the show Friday is Phantom of the Opera. I've already told her you would be perfect as Christine."

Rachel recognized the flattery but she still not entirely immune to it. She didn't trust him but she wondered if he would listen to her. "Jesse? Can I ask you something? You seem to be a little more in the know that we are." She could try flattery too. "It's just something doesn't seem right. Everyone seems to be up to something."

Jesse laughed. "Of course, everyone is up to something. Everyone has an angle. Everyone plays the game to get the most out of it for themselves personally."

Rachel suddenly felt a little sorry for Jesse. "Have you figured out what everyone's angle is yet? I bet you've figured out a lot." She knew Jesse wasn't immune to flattery either and probably wouldn't notice even if she laid it on too thick.

Jesse giggled. "I haven't figured it all out yet but when I do I'll let you know."

"Do you think we are in danger?" She asked.

"Us?" Jesse's eyes widened. "No, I think there are a lot of angry people and a lot of people who want someone to pay. I'm guessing Miss Wharton is the main target. That's what's clear. Why people want to blame the diva, is the part I'm still trying to figure out. But a lot of people in Cranesbill don't seem to like each other very much so the revenge will probably spread. I think we're safe though. They are just going to turn on each other."

This didn't make Rachel feel better. Jesse continued. "I wish we could talk longer. I'm supposed to be upstairs helping Miss O plan for tomorrow. I hope we get a chance to hang out. It might have just started out as a job I did for your mom but I really did develop feelings for you, Rachel. I really do like you." Jesse made a quick exit from the room.

Rachel sat there stunned her heart was beating a little faster and she wondered maybe, could he be telling her the truth this time? She still had feelings for Jesse and for Finn and…she jumped up and brushed herself off. She had work to do. She went through her suitcase and discovered that the file was gone.

Was that the real reason Jesse had been hiding under her bed?


	11. Chapter 11

11

Kurt was so excited to start their voice lessons the next day, he was up at the crack of dawn, dressed (he was wearing his own clothes…no uniforms, please…and he was going to avoid all Warblers, even his roommate, so no one could inform him that they were all dressing alike for the lessons…he wasn't planning on putting that uniform back on for the rest of the trip,) and put together before anyone else was stirring.

He was going to take a short stroll on the beach while he waited for the others to join him for breakfast but instead he chose to look through the book collection in the library. And he wasn't going to admit, not even to himself, that the reason he didn't head outside is that maybe Rachel had spooked him a bit last night. She is a drama queen and loves the spotlight but taking voice lessons and music classes with an Opera Diva and Broadway Star is her idea of heaven. There is no way she would suggest they leave early unless something had really spooked her.

The others emerged eventually, and they ate their fancy breakfast on the deck overlooking the ocean. And then climbed the stairs to the third floor. Jesse stopped Blaine on their way into the classroom. Kurt tried to stop and wait but Jesse waved him in. "She's starting. You don't want to be late."

"What do you want, Jesse?" Blaine said in a firm voice.

"Just to say how sorry I am about everything that happened. And that I hope we can put everything behind us. I even told Miss Olivia that you should have the role of the phantom in our upcoming production. You are the best tenor in the bunch."

"Thanks." Blaine said politely but he didn't mean it.

Jesse laid his hand on Blaine's arm. "You know I wasn't just acting."

"Leave it." Blaine pulled his arm away.

"No, I'm serious. I actually developed some feelings for you-and it scared me. That's why I acted so awful. I was hoping we'd have a chance to talk later. This is hard for me-these feelings. I know I was supposed to con you and the Warblers. But it was just a job. Our coach. I thought I was helping my own team out. But these feelings-I'd really love to talk to someone who could help. Someone who would understand. Someone who's been there.""

"We'll see." Blaine said unable ultimately to be unkind to anyone in need- and then walked away. As he entered the classroom he saw Kurt give him the raised eyebrow look and David pulled at his arm. "What was that about?"

Blaine shrugged. "He's up to something again." But then he didn't sound as sure of himself as before. "I think."

Rachel noticed that Marty Ramirez slipped in right at the beginning of class. "I'm covering this for Sylvia," He muttered in response to Miss Olivia's objection. "For old time's sake."

Miss Olivia was a surprising good teacher. They had musical theory classes, break out private voice lesson, they practiced Phantom (Rachel and Blaine getting the parts Jesse promised), they did singing exercises to improve technique and through it all Miss Wharton was personable and funny. She only faltered when Rachel asked a question right before lunch.

"Can you tell us about the Cranesbill murders?"

"That's a little off topic," Olivia joked.

"Please, could we talk about it for a moment?"

There was a bunch of groans throughout the room. "Not this again."

Olivia looked at Rachel carefully and then nodded, "It seems like M-Mr. Ramirez might be the best person to fill us in on that since he is a local."

Marty seemed excited to take the stage. He pulled out a folder-the exact same folder that was missing from Rachel's suitcase, opened it and threw down the articles on the table in front of him with a flourish. The picture on top was the teen who looked very much like Kurt.

"Andrew Moore. Fifth Victim. His body was never found. At least not yet." Marty said, noticing Rachel's curiosity. Then he went back to the beginning. "Twenty years ago, six local teenagers were murdered here in Cranesbill. They were strangled or drowned in the swamp. Then their bodies were displayed around town like some type of grotesque art show. One of the steeple of First Presbyterian. One in the foyer of the newly built library's check out lane. One was in the frozen food case of Jensen's convenience store."

"I thought you said there were seven murders that summer?" Rachel didn't let anything go.

"Another young teen Jimmy had been killed in a hit and run earlier that spring. There was a lot of frustration that the driver was never found since there weren't that many cars in Cranesbill. Some people though he had been killed on purpose since he was dating a young white girl Sarah-Sarah was the first victim found later that summer-but there was no connection between the hit and run and the murders. The murders were definitely the work of a serial killer. Jimmy D was either killed by someone who'd had too much to drink or someone who didn't like his choice of date."

"Who did it? Who killed all those kids?" Warbler Jason asked.

"Nobody knows." Marty said. "It had to be someone from the island. The tourists had all left because there was hurricane coming in. It was a local. But the sheriff and the FBI spent months…the sheriff's probably still working on it…and they couldn't figure out who. Almost all the young people left and the suspicions and grief tore the rest of the town apart. It used to be a nice community. Now, its just…"

"Are there any suspects?"

"There were exactly 113 suspects. 23 of those were probably too young. There were 90 people over 15 who might have been able to do it. Half of those were women and it is the expert opinion that most women can be disqualified since the killer needed enough upper body strength to hold a 230 pound football player underwater and then hoist him up the flag pole at city hall."

"Do you think we are in danger?" Rachel asked for the third time.

"No," Marty laughed. "There has never been another murder. My bet is that the murderer was one of the young people or someone with kids who fled. There hadn't been one incident since. I doubt anyone in town's even gotten a speeding ticket in the last twenty years. "

The group gathered around to look at the photos. Blaine picked one up. "Hey, Kurt this guy Andrew looks just like you."

"Hey, and she kind of looks like Brittney." Santana said picking up another photo. There was a collective shudder in the room as everyone realized that each of the photos looked surprisingly like one of the teens in the room. There was one that looked Finn-the football player left on the flag pole, one who looked like Mystie from Vocal Adrenaline, one who looked like Mercedes (but not really), and one who looked like Wes.

Rachel turned to Jesse, "Weren't you the person assigned to pick the members of this class? Did you do this as a joke?"

"This is low even for you Jesse." Wes said. "It's not funny."

"No," Olivia said looking at Jesse. "Nothing is funny about murder."

"I just picked my three favorite glee clubs. That's all. Nobody put me up to this. I'd never even heard of the murders before this weekend."

Brittany leaned over to peak at the picture of the teen that looked just like her.

"Hey, that's the dead girl in the woods who keeps trying to give me things."


	12. Chapter 12

12

The afternoon was spent learning the songs for Phantom of the Opera and then there was a hilarious hour when everyone tried on the costumes Miss Wharton had brought to see if they fit.

The class broke up about four. The sky was already darkening. The kids could see another storm rolling toward them slowly like the tide coming in.

Vocal Adrenaline made a quick exit as if they were too good to hang out with the rest of them.

"We should check out the pavilion where we are going to be performing." Rachel suggested and she was surprised when a large group decided to go with her. Finn was her first volunteer. He didn't volunteer to be with Rachel. It's just that she looked a little spooked. And he didn't like that look on her. Artie was in. Brittany and Santana agreed to come. Santana mostly so she could figure out what Brittany kept seeing in the woods. Matt from the Warblers was all in. He seemed a little smitten with Santana. Matt had yet to notice that mohawked Puck didn't really appreciate the smaller guys attention toward his sometime girl. Puck decided to check out the pavilion.

Wes and David said they had some things to take care of and Blaine begged off because of a headache.

"Should I stay?" Kurt whispered.

"Ah no," Blaine said. "Go hang out with your friends. I'm just going to take a nap." So Kurt put his arm through Mercedes and large group set off with the directions that Jesse had given them.

Although they hung out at Betton Beach after inspecting the new pavilion, the storm was getting closer and it seemed to be moving faster and faster their way. "The wind is picking up. If we don't leave now, we are going to get soaked." Finn observed.

They got drenched anyway. Minutes into their walk they were soaked to the bone and shivering. The rain was coming down in sheets and the wind was blowing so hard that the kids could barely hear each other.

Artie was falling behind because he was having a hard time maneuvering his chair in the rain soaked ground.

Brittany noticed and headed back for him but she must have picked the wrong path because suddenly she was alone in the dark and the rain. She called for Artie and she called for the group but she couldn't hear either one.

But then she saw the girl-the girl in the pink nighty-standing in front of her. The girl was staring at Brittany vacantly but she was also beckoning her.

"Do you want me to come with you?" Brittany asked.

The girl disappeared.

And Brittany screamed.

Her scream was so loud that everyone heard her. "Brittany!" Santana yelled racing back.

"Brittany!" Artie said, finally getting his chair to move like a speed racer. "Brittany, Brittany."

The group searched frantically for almost an hour in the worsening storm but she never turned up. Finally, a patrol car showed up. The sheriff got out. "Everyone's worried about you. Did you guys happen to miss that a storm's come up? They think you got lost. I'll radioed in for Sterling to bring the cars for you."

The group practically jumped all over the sheriff. "Brittany's missing! Brittany's missing! We heard her screaming! We can't find her! She's lost!"

Somehow he caught the gist of the story, was able to convince the frantic teens to get into the minivans that had come to collect them and go back to the hotel.

The rest of the group were waiting on the covered porch as the vans pulled up, Blaine came out into the rain when Kurt emerged. "Where were you? Are you okay? What happened?"

Marty and his sports car pulled in.

Wes and David came down too and helped guide everyone in. Finally, the sheriff convinced everyone that it would do no good for them to head back out in the rain. "You don't know the island. You could wander into the wrong area in the dark. I'll get locals out and looking. We'll find her. Go upstairs, put on some dry clothes. We'll take care of it."

Santana came crashing down the stairs with a picture of Brittany. The sheriff grabbed the snapshot. He paled but then nodded. "I wouldn't worry. It's a small town but it's a big island. We'll find her."

Jesse came down the steps. And Mystie ran to talk to him. It sounded like they were arguing and then Mystie came flying down the stairs toward the sheriff. "Kylie's missing too. She's never came back. She went into town with Jesse. But she never came back!"

The sheriff nodded gravely. He looked around the room catching Miss Olivia's eye. He looked away first. Then he looked at Marty and his eyes narrowed. Then he motioned for she and Jesse to come down. Everyone else was gathered around. Too riveted and scared to go change into dry clothes.

"You were with Kylie?"

"We walked into town."

"And you are Miss Olivia's assistant."

"And where was she this afternoon?"

"I was here. Working with my piano player to edit down the music for the concert on Friday."

The sheriff turned back to Jesse. "And how come Kylie didn't come back with you?"

"I had to meet someone."

"Who?"

"Kylie and I split when I had to go. She said she was coming right back here. She should have been here hours ago."

"You have anything to do with why she didn't make it?"

"No!"

"When did you split?"

"5:00ish."

"I called Jesse at 5:30 to ask him a question about the show. There was a guy talking to him in the background."

"Are you offering him an alibi?" The sheriff asked.

"I'm just telling you everything I know," But then Olivia looked down guiltily. She wanted to tell him about the Tan fishing shack. If there are two girls missing she should tell him, she should just tell him. Tell him everything. But before she could muster up the courage to break 20 years of silence and lies, the sheriff turned and made to leave. "Now I've got two missing girls!"

"Marty!" The sheriff called as he reached the door. When Marty approached the sheriff dropped into a tone so low that Rachel had to strain to hear. "So two of you have now returned to Cranesbill's 20 years later?" He stared at Marty long and hard.

"I graduated the same year as Sterling. You still have a town full of suspects, Sheriff."

"All I got is two missing girls who've gone off and gotten themselves lost. I don't need any suspects." The sheriff stormed to his car and slammed the door of his police car before squealing off.


	13. Chapter 13

13

The staff reheated dinner while everyone changed into dry clothes. Even though it was late spring, they built a fire in the great room in the large fireplace. And then the staff headed home for the night. "The storm is too bad." Said the last worker. "I've got to get home to my family. My kids will worry. Help yourself to anything in the house. If you need anything call the sheriff."

Artie was crying in a corner and Rachel was rubbing his back. "It's going to be okay. Tomorrow we will find Brittany and everything will be better."

Olivia walked slowly past. "I think it's going to get a lot worse before it gets better. Jesse, I want to go upstairs."

Marty watched her go, for the first time he was starting to feel a little nervous about this adventure. He followed Olivia. It was time they played catch up.

Nobody had much of an appetite and instead of eating everyone gathered in the great room, listless and unsure.

"Games," Puck announced.

"I don't think we are in the mood."

"Well, we can't just sit here and listen to storm howling outside thinking about…no, everything's okay. It's just a storm and our friends are just holed up somewhere waiting out the storm. Someone probably took them in when they saw them wandering in the storm. Everything is okay. We are going to play games. Santana you choose."

"Fine." She flounced her hair. "Spin the bottle." And she laid her empty diet coke can on the end table.

People let out a sigh of relief and nodded. They were a little unsure. Usually there was alcohol involved when they did this. But at least spin the bottle beat sitting there doing nothing. Santana gave the bottle an expert spin and it pointed right at Matt. "Now all we need is a closet."

"Seven minutes of heaven," Jason hooted as Santana pulled the boy into the closet.

The others started rooting through the other games. Kurt grabbed Blaine's arm and pulled him out of the room, down the hall, and into the deserted kitchen.

"Okay, please tell me that you were the boy that Jesse had to meet at 5:30!" Kurt said.

"What?" Blaine said going from confused to angry. "Excuse me?"

"Just tell me it wasn't you!" The lights flickered off again. They didn't come back on.

"We should have brought a flashlight." Blaine complained staring into the pitch-black room.

"Are you avoiding my question for a reason?" Kurt asked.

"What's with the jealous boyfriend routine?"

"Did you meet Jesse?"

Why? Because he told you that he was struggling with his sexuality. You went out to meet him?"

"How can you even think that? I had a headache. I took a nap. Don't you trust me?"

"Of course, but its awfully convenient that you need a nap and Jesse has a secret meeting with a secret guy."

"This is too much. Knock it off Kurt. Seriously."

The boys could hear pounding toward the front of the hotel as if someone were knocking on the door. They were to into their argument to care.

In the closet Santana pulled Matt close and gave him a kiss. He was cute and he seemed into her and now that she kissed him she realized that he probably hadn't ever kissed anyone before. He was shy and tentative and didn't exactly seem to warm up to her passionate kisses or the fact that she hands were moving up his thighs…she heard pounding outside and wondered if everyone was counting down the seven minutes for them. Or cheering them on. Cheer all you want, she thought, Matt's kind of a dud. He had laid his head on her shoulder. Oh, so now we are going to cuddle. Great. Just Great.

"What's up with Kurt? He looked upset." Mercedes whispered to Rachel once Santana had pulled Matt into the closet and Kurt had pulled Blaine from the room. Rachel bet Kurt's dissatisfaction was because Jesse had been met with a guy this afternoon, and except for Wes and David who were never apart, all the other guys were at Betton Beach with them. She bet the guy Jesse had met was Blaine. Of course it could have been one of the two guys from Vocal Adrenaline but…Rachel was a little put out too. Obviously, Jesse did just want to get into her suitcase.

There was a loud pounding on the door.

Finn jumped up, "It could be the sheriff."

"It could be Brittany!" Artie wheeled off. "She's found her way back. The group ran and threw open the front door. There was nobody there. Then the pounding started up again on the side of the porch.

"It's Brittany. She's lost!" Artie flew out on to the porch and rounded the corner. Finn and Puck ran out behind him, jumping off the porch to look down the side of the hotel.

Rachel screamed. They looked back. And then they looked up. And there hanging from the rafters, her body banging against the siding in the fierce wind was Kylie. Dead.

"Wait," Blaine said, putting his arm on Kurt's arm. "Do you hear that? Is that screaming?"  
>The two boys were absolutely still listening. Not only could they hear the screams coming from the front of the hotel. They could make out the sound of rasping breath, coming from only a few feet away.<p>

"We're not alone in here." Kurt muttered.

Blaine grabbed his hand and pulled. The two of them flew out of the room as fast as they could.

Great, now he's fallen asleep, Santana rolled her eyes as Matt's head lolled on her should and then rolled off into her hands. Only problem was his head was no longer connected to his body. Santana's breath caught in a high squeak and then she panicked. She started flailing around, banging on the door and the walls, shaking the doorknob. Her hands were shaking so hard and so covered in sweat that she could get the door open. "Let me out! Let me out! Let me out!" She screamed over and over in a panic.

The door was finally opened by Brody and as Santana fell out of the door, Matt's body fell against her, plopping lifeless on the floor. Santana ran screaming from the room. Running into the group from the porch in the foyer. She was beyond hysterical.

Blaine and Kurt ran into the hall looking terrified. Everyone looked at each other.

After piecing together random parts of the horrific story-they gave each other a terrified look and bolted up the stairs.


	14. Chapter 14

14

Olivia and Marty were startled by the pounding on the door. Marty opened it and all of the kids crowded in. Finn slammed the door behind them. They all tried to talk at once but somehow Olivia got them calm enough to hear that there was someone in the kitchen who wasn't supposed to be there, that Matt had been beheaded in the closet while playing spin the bottle with Santana and Kylie was strung up on the front porch, banging against the building like a grotesque wind chime.

"Oh my god!" She and Marty looked at each other. It was happening again. "The Sheriff!" Olivia called knowing that she was going to spill everything now no matter what. "The phone's dead," Marty screeched. Banging the phone against the wall.

If it was possible the panic level began to rise even higher.

"I pulled the cord from the wall."

Finn and Puck scrambled to the floor for it. They got it plugged back in but the lines were still down.

"It could be the storm," Marty said but nobody believed it.

"What are doing here? You're Sterling's nephew aren't you?" Olivia asked spotting Brody for the first time. "The storm was so bad, I drove over to see if you all needed anything-"

"Oh god. We'll go for the sheriff. I think Marty and I have some information that he needs anyway."

"We've got to find some place safe. Some place safe we can all hole up together. We've got to follow the scary movie rules." Kurt was babbling.

"Scary movie rules?" Mercedes asked.

"Like don't have sex?" Santana asked. Artie's hand flew to his mouth. "Oh no, oh no. Brittany!"

"When?" Santana asked.

"No, I have a list of rules." Kurt couldn't seem to gather his thoughts. "I hate scary movies. I hate them but I get suckered into watching them sometimes." He glowered at his friends. "So I just made a list of don't ever do this if you find yourself in the middle of a horror movie list."

"Like, stay together. Don't ever split up. Especially don't break up into pairs and explore basements or secret passageways with only a flashlight. Don't try to go after the bad guy. And if you think the bad guy is dead. Kill him again and again and again and again."

Blaine wrapped Kurt up in a hug. "Where can we all go? Kurt's right. We need to barricade ourselves in one safe place until this is over."

"The game room."

"No!" Santana shouted. "He was in the closet. He was in the closet with us. He…"

"The great room is big enough for all of us. It's near the door. All the windows are already shuttered tight because of the storm. We block all entrances and exits to the room." Wes and David took over. "We go together. Does anyone need anything from their rooms?"

"Blankets," Mercedes whispered. "We should get blankets and…" She faltered.

"Food." Finn said. "We'll need some food."

"Okay, we'll stop in the kitchen. We'll all go together. Everyone grabbed onto two people. We go as a blob."

The group crept downstairs, the flashlights bouncing eerily off of the walls and windows. They stopped first to strip the blankets from the beds of several bedrooms. They made their way down the staircase. And finally met up with Artie sitting like a ghost in his wheelchair, in the foyer.

"The elevator's not working." They had left him behind. They felt horrible.

"Stick together!" David commanded. The group opened up to envelop Artie. Then the group stopped right in front of the kitchen door. After a moment of hesitation they barged in.

"Everybody grab something. Hurry!" Wes yelled. And everyone began emptying the cupboards until Mercedes shrieked and pointed to the tabletop. The table Kurt and Blaine kept bumping their hands into during their fight in the darkened house. The words Help Me had been scrawled on the table top in blood.

"Oh god, there was somebody in here. Somebody who needed our help." Kurt felt like his stomach was in his mouth.

Without any command the group collectively ran from the room and into the great room where people started piling furniture against the doors leading to the billiards room. Olivia and Marty waved from the foyer.

"We'll be right back with the sheriff."

Brody had disappeared.

Finn and Puck slammed the door leading into the foyer and pushed two couches against it.

Blankets were strewn along the ground. People threw foodstuff down on the couches.

Puck picked up one of the cans. "Lima beans? Who chose Lima Beans?"

There was a small chuckle.

Everyone settled themselves in small clusters on the floor wrapping themselves up with Blankets. There were no divisions between schools anymore. Everyone was mixed up together.

Kurt was still holding tightly to Blaine's shirt and he tried to whisper for Finn-his step brother- to come over those were the two people he most had to keep safe. Blaine and Finn. He could feel the heat of Mercedes pushed up against him and he gave a half-smile. If he could just keep them safe until tomorrow.

Blaine wrapped his arms around him.

"I didn't lie to you. I really did have a headache. I really did nap. I don't know who Jesse was meeting but it wasn't me."

Kurt nodded. "I know." He also knew that no longer mattered. Then something else occurred to him.

"Jesse," He said out loud, his voice breaking. He wasn't upstairs. He wasn't downstairs.

"He's missing too." Wes said gravely. No one mentioned the possibility that it could be his blood in the kitchen. "Brittany and Jesse are missing. Matt and Kylie…" Wes voice faltered too. And the group fell into a brooding, terrified silence.


	15. Chapter 15

15

Olivia and Sterling were surprised to reach the car safely. They were surprised when the car started up easily. Olivia swallowed nervously.

She barely knew the man sitting next to her. She hadn't seen him in twenty years. And they hadn't been very close twenty years ago. And here she was trusting him with her darkest, deepest secret. She didn't doubt that her secrets were going to make it into his best seller. If he lived long enough to write it. But she no longer cared. Her secret was no longer worth dying for.

They zoomed down the driveway, fishtailing a little in the pouring rain.

"Don't kill us before we get there."

Suddenly, Sterling came stumbling into the road.

Marty pulled the car to a screeching halt, the wheels couldn't get any traction, and plowing him into the ditch and ran half a car length up a cedar tree.

The two jumped out of the car.

"Sterling! Are you okay?" She ran to him. It was a stupid question. She knew that if he wasn't okay getting him to a hospital on the mainland was impossible. She knew the car behind her was totaled. She knew there was a killer loose on the island…unless they had just taken that killer out.

"It's starting again." Sterling said crazily in a singsong voice. "He…the house…" He pointed up the hill toward the hotel.

"We know." Marty said, "We just came from there."

"He…" Sterling voice was almost inaudible. Blood gushed out of the corner of his mouth. "He wanted this weekend. He specifically chose this date…"

"Who?" Olivia asked.

Sterling's eyes fluttered and then shot open in terror. Olivia couldn't help but twirl around to empty space.

"Brody…Brody is…" And then Sterling turned and raced off into the woods.

Olivia and Marty looked at the car. And at the road in front of them. "Brody?"

She asked.

"It doesn't make sense." Marty said. "He was barely an infant twenty years ago."

"Is he working with someone?"

"Two?" Marty asked. He fished a flashlight out of the car. And then offered Olivia his hand. "With Sterling. That was weird. C'mon, we still need to find Sheriff Moore."

Once the two got onto the main road the wind was so strong they could barely hear each other and they could barely open their mouths. They just pushed against the wind and slogged into town. They hoped Sheriff Moore was holed up in the police station. Otherwise, they didn't have any chance of finding him.

The teens were still slumped on the floor in shock. Rachel, Santana, wrapped up in Finn and Puck's arms were crying quietly. Blaine kept bumping shoulders against Jason who was wracked with sobs. Mystie kept repeating, "I just want to go home." Over and over again like a broken record.

"We just need to hole up here until morning. And then we can get out of this place." Wes said.

"Do you mean whenever the hurricane finally blows over?" Mercedes asked.

"How long does a hurricane last?" Rachel asked the group. No one answered.

"We should sing," David said. "We're good at singing. He tried to find the most upbeat song he could think of. The Warblers were working on a new song and he started the accapella background to Rhythm of Love. Blaine caught on and started singing. His voice a little weaker than usual. He still had his arms wrapped around Kurt.

My head is stuck in the clouds

She begs me to come down

Says "Boy quit foolin' around"

I told her "I love the view from up here

The warm sun and wind in my ear

We'll watch the world from above

As it turns to the rhythm of love"

We may only have tonight

Blaine's voice fumbled. Even these lyrics began to feel creepy in the middle of the situation. He couldn't continue. Finn picked up where he left off.

But till the morning sun you're mine all mine

Play the Music low and sway to the rhythm of love

My heart beats like a drum

A guitar string to the strum

A beautiful song to be sung

She's got blue eyes deep like the sea

That roll back when she's laughing at me

The group fell back into silence. Finn came and sat in front of Kurt and Blaine saw that Kurt grabbed a fistful of Finn's shirt and held on to it. Finn reached back and patted Kurt gently.

"It's going to be okay, man. Don't worry."

And that's when the shutters on the main front window flew open. There was a collective scream.

Puck ran to the window to check. "I don't see anything. I think it was just the storm."

The group stood there transfixed watching the wind bending the trees over and the rain beat down. Something blew across the yard and into the trees.

"I think they just lost their patio furniture." Puck joked.

The group watched as the window bowed in and out in the wind. "I didn't even know windows could do that," said Pam. She was holding Trent's hand and staring out the window. "We've got to close that shutter before it breaks the window."  
>Already, Jason, Wes, and David were unbarricading the door. Trent was the first one through the door followed by Jason. They got soaked just going through the front door. Trent ran over to catch the far shutter. Jason tried to stay upright in the wind.<p>

Then, Jason's body sagged a little and his mouth opened in a scream they could not hear. There was a thwacking sound and Jason was splattered with blood.


	16. Chapter 16

16

It took hours for Olivia and Marty to make the short walk into town. Neither one had ever been so wet. Both were shivering but neither even noticed.

The pulled open the doors to the station grateful that they were unlocked. Files were scattered everywhere on every desk and flat surface.

"The 1991 murders."

Every inch of the whiteboard had been scribbled on.

Lists of names had been written on the wall. Sarah, Miles, Trudy, Patty, Mia, Andrew. Over and over. And a new list-Brittany, Kylie-

But there was no one here.

Olivia picked up a marker and crossed out Kylie's name. Underneath that she wrote Jesse. She started a new list: Kylie, Matt…

And then another Sterling

And in another list she wrote Brody.

And in another she wrote the blue shack…

And then they heard clearly in the silence, a gun being cocked. Olivia had the feeling the gun was pointed right at them.

"Who? Who?" Pam cried out. "What happened? What's happening? Did?"

Jason kept standing there silently screaming, the shutters banging open and closed.

Wes, David, and Blaine dashed out the door. They looked around wildly-trying to find whoever was responsible. Then they wrestled the shutters closed and Blaine tried to pull Jason into the hotel. It took all three to get the tall senior back inside. He was covered in blood and what had to be brain matter.

Blaine swallowed hard so that he wouldn't throw up. "Jason? Jason? We got you. It's okay." Jason face was paralyzed in fear. And he was trembling. He was not making any indication that he knew what was going on around him.

The rest of the group had surrounded Pam.

Puck looked up at Wes. "Is he?"

Wes nodded and looked like he was going to burst into tears. David made a small motion like an axe coming down and then his face scrunched all up. He dashed around the small foyer as if he wanted to escape but there was no where to go."

Mystie started sobbing. "Why can't we just go home? I want to go home."

"C'mon, get back in here." Kurt pulled on the clump of guys still in the foyer. "We've got to barricade ourselves in."

Blaine shook his head. "He's gotta have a shower. A change of clothes…"

"No," Kurt shook his head. "You guys can't go upstairs. We can't split up. That's the rule. We can't split up. We split up…and look what happened…No."

"We could see them through the window."

"But we split up…"

"We can't all go," Blaine said. "Two big groups. Two big groups. One here. Barricade yourselves in. The Warblers will take Jason upstairs, get him showered and dressed. Don't open the door unless you know its us."

Kurt waffled between the Warblers meaning Blaine and his stepbrother and best friends. "I…"

Mercedes yanked on his arm. "I'm all alone here. You ain't leaving me."

"Do you guys need anything else while we are upstairs?" Wesley asked regaining his composure.

"Weapons." Puck said simply. Artie laughed at his joke but Puck was serious. "Find something anything we can defend our selves with." He looked toward the kitchen and the drawers of knives and cutlery. "They gotta have something here. Baseball bats. Croquet mallets."

Finn and he set off down the hall.

"Wait up!" Artie called. "I'm coming with you!"

"Guys! We can't! We can't split up." Kurt was crying. Mercedes pulled him into the room and the three of them pushed the couch back into place.

"I told you guys we should've left last night. No one ever listens to me." Rachel said.

Santana's hand went up but then instead she grabbed Rachel's hand. And all four of them sat down on the couch so that no one could push there way into the room. Mystie dragged Pam over and they plopped down on the couch too.

"We've got to get out of here." Rachel said.

"For once I agree with you." Santana said. "You got a plan, bitch."

And that's when an axe blade crashed through the door above their heads.


	17. Chapter 17

17

"I should kill you both now." The sheriff said staring Olivia and Marty down.

Marty turned a little too quickly putting his hands out in a show of surrender.

"You disappear from town 20 years ago, Andrew. You create quite the disguise for yourself. Twenty years to the day you come back and it starts all over again."

"You were the one who invited me, Sheriff. I didn't want to come back here. I never, ever wanted to come back here."

The sheriff snorted. "Fits the profile. Single guy. Reprobate. Pervert." The sheriff swallowed.

"There were murders after I left." Olivia muttered.

"Maybe you had help. Two of you." The sheriff said gesturing toward Marty. "Makes sense now."

"There have been more murders. They found Kylie's body hanging like a wind chime. Matt. Sterling."

The sheriff started at Sterling's name.

"Before he died he said it's starting again. Then he said, "He's the one who suggested the date. He picked this date for a reason. Do you know who he meant?"

The sheriff's hand shook and he blinked rapidly. He was figuring something out."

"Then he said Brody."

The sheriff shook his head. "Brody don't make sense. You two make sense." He re-aimed the gun. "This stops here."

"Who suggested the date?" Marty asked. And it suddenly occurred to them that the sheriff could easily have been the one to pick this week.

The sheriff blinked again, set his mouth in a this line. And raised the gun.

"A blue shack."

"I did flee. They only thing I was guilty of was gender dysphoria. Not—Marty was the one who took me to the mainland in a pole boat. I used the murders as a way to completely escape-to disappear forever-to make sure no one would ever come looking for me-but I saw him. The killer. As we paddled through the swamp. The girl was dead-Mia- she was lying there all broken. He was standing there on the dock. Dressed all in black. I didn't see his face."

"What good is that then?" The sheriff's voice broke in frustration.

"But the shack was blue. Right up against the swamp. It would have to be somewhere off Knucklepine Road. If we could figure out who owns that fishing shack…"

"Ohmigod!" The sheriff sunk to his knees. He knew exactly what shack she was talking about. He'd been there a million times.

Mystie fainted all over everyone's laps, making it impossible for them to scramble away from the door. Finally the girl was dumped onto the ground and the girls rushed to the other side of the room.

Rachel peed her pants.

There was a huge commotion on the other side of the door. "The guys must be scaring him off."

Santana thought that that the fight was more likely going the other direction but she couldn't make herself say that. There was a pounding on the door.

"Let us in! Let us in!" It was Finn.

Mercedes, Kurt, and Rachel scrambled up to move the couch. Nothing was going to make Santana and Pam get anywhere near the door. Mystie was still out cold.

Finn flung the door open, grabbing onto Rachel and Kurt. Feet thundered down the stairs. "What's going on?"

"We chased him away," Puck struck a karate pose, "With our ninja moves."

"Serious?" David looked skeptical.

The front door banged open in response. Puck high kicked it closed and Mercedes ran over and threw the lock.

"He put an axe through our door."

"How'd he get in?" Blaine asked searching the crowd for Kurt. Surprisingly, Kurt seemed a little calmer than he had before.

Everyone looked at each other. "Pam and Mystie are not with group!"

Dallas, the last remaining Vocal Adrenaline male, rushed into the great room. Mystie was sitting on the couch, groggy and rubbing at her head.

"Where's Pam?" He yelled at her. She just shook her head. Mystie seemed to realize that she had been left alone and she was trying to decide if she was more angry or terrified.

The door to the great room was open. Dallas crashed through. Everyone followed. Mystie decided that she was more terrified. Pam was spread eagle on the pool table. Head squashed under a croquet hoop. Her head bashed in by the mallet lying next to her.

The group fled, finally ending up on the front porch in the early morning light in a calm lull in the storm.

"We should have stayed together." Kurt said simply. Blaine looked like he was trying not to cry.

"How did he have time to put an axe through the door and run off when the boys startled him and get back into the great room to grab and kill Pam just seconds later?" Mercedes asked.

"There are two?" Artie asked.

"We've got to get out of here. We've got to escape." Santana said.

Just then one of the silver minivans began bumping its way up the drenched road.

"We're not going with anyone." Rachel reminded everyone. "We don't know who the killer or killers are for sure."

But pretty much as the group looked back at the hotel behind him they couldn't help feeling like going anyplace would be better than staying here.

"What do your scary movie rules say about going to a second location?" Blaine bumped Kurt's shoulder and then grabbed his hand.

"The attempt to escape usually signals that the movie is about two thirds to three quarter's done." Kurt explained. "More people will die in the attempt to escape. But usually, the main characters of the show survive."

"So who exactly are the stars of the show?" Jason, the tall Warbler asked.

"Do we go?" Blaine asked the group.

The group looked at each other and they knew from their shared grim expressions what their decision was. Even Rachel descended the stairs and began walking toward the van.

"We're going to stay together." Blaine whispered to Kurt.

The mayor jumped out of the minivan. "Is everyone okay, I heard…" He looked distraught. "The sheriff is on his way. I'm here to start bringing you guys down to the gym. This is all my fault. All my fault. I'm so sorry. The coast guard's comin' to evacuate everyone to the mainland. The storm-we're in the eye of the storm-a temporary lull and I heard the murders… There happening all over again…Oh god, how did this happen? I heard a handful of you have already been…I'm so sorry! This is all my fault. I never should have brought you all-"

The mayor looked like he had been crying. "C'mon, We've got to hurry. The Coast Guard should be here within the hour. We only have a short window of time."

"We're out of here." Dallas grabbed Mystie's hand. Vocal Adrenaline-at least what was left of them were the first people to hop into the vehicle.

The sheriff wasn't quite sure what the next step should be-search the blue shack for clues…

"The kids!" Olivia shouted, "We've got to get back to the kids!"

"Two of them are already dead. Kylie was hanging from the porch, Matt beheaded."

The sheriff could look for evidence later. The first step was to stop the killer. And he was pretty sure who the killer was. He picked up his radio. He called down to the gym where most of the town was gathering.

"Rosie, is the mayor there? I need to talk to the mayor."

"No, the mayor hasn't been here all night. I assumed he was with you. His wife's a nervous wreck."

"Thanks Rosie." The sheriff signed off. "If you see him, let him know I need to talk to him."

The sheriff looked at Olivia and Marty. He stated simply. "The mayor owns a blue fishing shack off of Knucklepine. We've got to get back to that hotel."


	18. Chapter 18

18

They were bumping along into town. Rachel recognized the offices for the Cranesbill Clarion. She remembered sitting in on Miss Olivia's interview. That seemed like years ago. Thinking about it, it seems to Rachel that Marty dropped the handful of pictures to startle Olivia. To get her to reveal something. What could Olivia be hiding that is related to that handful of pictures? Handful. "Omigod," Rachel whispers, she grabs both Puck and Finn and pulls them to her. The rest of the New Directions lean over.

"When the mayor picked us up he mentioned that a handful of us had already been murdered. How did he know?"

"He must have run into Olivia and Marty." Puck said.

"I know that's what I thought. But he said a handful. When Olivia and Marty left only Kylie and Matt had been killed. Two. People don't say a handful when they mean two."

The mayor pulled the rearview mirror down so that he could look at them. "What are guys whispering about back there?"

Just then another car slammed broadside into the minivan, which spun several times and then tipped over on its side.

The door was opening and hands were reaching for them. "Hurry, hurry." The group recognized their singing teacher Miss Olivia Wharton. "It's the mayor. Get out of there. Hurry."

Marty was helping to lift Santana out. The patrol car was smashed up and the sheriff was yanking at the driver's door. And that's when the gunfire started.

"We've got a sniper?" Marty hollered confused. The kids were jumping out. Most covered with scrapes, bruises and blood. "The store. Go hide in the store."

Finn was the first person to reach the abandoned store. The door was locked so he pulled his sweatshirt sleeve over his hand and punched out the window. He held the door open for everyone.  
>Puck hauled Artie from the van and ran with him into the store. There was no way they could save the wheelchair too. Olivia and Marty were the last people through the door. The sheriff was lying in the middle of the road. Shot dead through the back of the head.<p>

"Did we get him? Did we get the mayor?" Rachel asked shrilly.

Marty shrugged. And everyone noticed that he'd been shot through the arm. Miss Olivia pulled off one of her shirts and began wrapping it up.

The group moved to the back of the store. The shelves were empty. The only things in the store were a few wracks and some dismembered mannequins. "There is no where to hide." Mercedes observed.

"There's also nowhere for a bad guy to hid either," Dallas observed.

"Of course, he could just come in the front window. Since, you know, it's broken open."

"Excuse me, Santana," Finn defended himself. "The front door was locked and somebody was shooting at us."

"So who is killer number two," Rachel tried to keep them on track.

"Jesse was meeting someone when he let Kylie get taken." Dallas said angrily. "Some guy. Could've been the mayor."

"Jesse wasn't even born twenty years ago-" Olivia said.

"Plus, he was meeting me." Marty said. "He was spying for me. On-" Marty looked down. "Miss Olivia. I've been writing a book about the Cranesbill murders. I tried to get an interview," He looked right at Olivia as if in apology. "I needed someone on the inside."

"What does Miss Olivia have to do with the murders?" Rachel asked

Marty looked away and declined to answer.

After a moment, Miss Olivia announced quietly. "I was the fifth victim. The boy whose body was never found."

There was a stunned silence. "My family was awful. My parents were drunk most of the time. I always knew that I was supposed to have been born a girl. I used the murders to disappear forever. To make sure no one would ever connect me-to him. Cranesbill has haunted me ever since."

"Dude, you used to be a guy?"

"So, who else?" Marty went back to original line of questioning. "Sterling?"

"He seemed terrified, but I guess he could have lied."

"He named Brody."

"Bode wasn't around twenty year ago. I don't understand. He'd be working with Sterling. Not the mayor."

"Three of them?"

"We never found Jesse's body-" Dallas seemed to want to think ill of his former teammate.

"The blood in the kitchen." Kurt whispered.

"We never found Brittany either." Mystie pointed out.

"You better not be accusing my Brittany of anything," Santana snapped.

"Brittany's not smart enough." Finn said and then looked down. "No offence. She's wonderful. I love Brittany. But she'd ask directions from an alligator and just think she was leaning in to talk with a very short person."

"All we know is that it can't be any of us," Puck said. "But what's the plan? I'm guessing this place isn't going to keep us safe for long. We go out the front we get shot."

There was a crash in the back of the store. "Sounds like our bad guy just knocked something over in the storeroom." Marty said. "I guess going out the back door's pretty much out too."

And that's when the door to the back opened, a hand reached in and grabbed Rachel. She let out a terrified squeak and then she was dragged through the door.

"Hey," Finn grabbed her feet just as she was about to disappear. But Rachel slipped through his hands and the door slammed shut. "Rachel! Rachel!" Finn pounded on the door but it was locked. "We've got to get in there."

"Tackle time," Puck announced and he and Finn and everyone took turns ramming the door until it crashed open. The back room with packed with clothes that were two decades old. And Rachel was somewhere in there with one or both of the killers.

"Rachel, Rachel!" Everyone yelled and they all split up as they dashed around in there trying to find New Directions Female Lead.

Mercedes got caught in a corner and someone reached through some grungy shirts and grabbed her arm. She shrieked and pushed the rack over. Then she ran away. Finding Kurt she glommed on to his hand.

In another corner, Blaine backed into some blue blazers and two of the arms wrapped around his neck and began choking him-he kicked backwards and struggled but he was slowly losing oxygen. Finally, with his last breath he leaned forward and shot both of his elbows back. There was a grunt and he fell to his knees. He had to get away. He was crawling trying to get to his feet when the hand shot back out and grabbed his ankle.

"No way!" He whispered hoarsely and kicked back with his foot. Scrambling for to his feet he ran right into Wes and David who grabbed him.

"He's over there." He pointed behind him but the figure was gone.

Artie was crawling across the floor pulling himself by his arms he was just entering the backroom when a figure dressed all in black bent down and whispered. "You're next, Cripple." But then Jason yelled out and came running and the figure disappeared.

"I found her! I found her!" Puck yelled. Everyone ran toward Rachel she dangling off the ground, held up by a rope around her neck. As they ran toward her she started shaking her head frantically but she was choking and no noise came out. Finn yanked the rope off her neck grabbing her down and instantaneously Mystie came crashing down from the ceiling so that she was impaled on the arm of a mannequin.

The group ran for the front of the store again. Brody and Sterling were standing in the doorway. "It's them! The killers!" Finn yelled and everyone ran toward them. No one thought out what they were planning to do once they reached them.

"No it's not us! We are not the killer. We've figured it out. It's the mayor. And he's working with someone. C'mon we have the boats. We've got to escape while the sea is still calm."

"Why should we trust you? We know the mayor is one of the killers but…"

"You were the one who let me out of the closet at the hotel. Then you disappeared." Santana said. "I saw you. You came out of nowhere and they disappeared again."

"We were hiding up at Sarah's house-the hotel-we were trying to scare you Olivia. We knew you were…all of us…the council we brought you here to …I don't know anymore what the plan was…me I just wanted revenge. I loved Sarah…well her house is full of secret passageways that how we were just trying to scare you pretending to be her ghost but the mayor-he must've known about those passageways too-we ran into him in one of the passageways. He injured me with a knife. I was trying to give Bode time to escape but I couldn't find him…"

"I was letting her out," Brody pointed at Santana and smiled shyly.

"Oh god," Rachel whispered to Mercedes. "Does every guy find Santana hot."

The group followed the two out of the door and ran down the street toward the oceanfront. "We've been trying to find you guys. You were no longer at the hotel. You've got to get off the island. We've got to get off the island. He's seen Brody. He knows that we know who he is…"

When they reached the boat they realized someone had gotten their first. Dallas was tied to the anchor. He had a knife in his chest. There was also a knife through the gas tank. Gasoline was seeping out into water.

A gunshot rang out and Sterling slumped over. He didn't move. Another and Marty who had jumped into the boat to see if there any possibility that the last Vocal Adrenaline singer was still alive. The shot spun him. Marty fell into the water, blood darkened the water. The next shot hit the gas can. "Every one off the boat!" Screamed. They had just pulled everyone to the mainland when the boat blew.

More shots rang out. The group looked around. They were out in the wide open and there was nowhere to run. And now a minivan was barreling down at them blaring its horn.


	19. Chapter 19

19

The driver's side door popped open and Brittany lean out waving-while the van was still in motion-"Get in! Get in! Hurry!"

"Get in," Miss Olivia said she had been smart enough to grab the sheriff's gun on the way to the harbor. "Go! I'll cover you. Go! I've got business to settle here." She began shooting at the black-clothed figure on top of the Cranesbill Clarion. "Go! There's one road off the island. Only the locals use it. It isn't on any map. Go past Jensen's store. Turn left and follow it through. All the way through the swamp. Don't get out of the van. Don't go into the swamp."

The young people all hopped in squishing into the seats and sitting on laps. Brittany drove like a bat out of hell. Artie was pretty sure she didn't even have a driver's license.

"Where's Jensen's store?" Rachel asked.

"I know! I know! Jimmy told me." Mercedes crawled over all the other kid's to get to the front.

They found out what they thought-what they hoped was the road. "Go! Go! Go!" They yelled at Brittany.

"Where have you been?" Santana accused her.

"Some nice lady heard me scream and came out of her house. She made me come home with her. She said something didn't feel right about the night. Her knee was acting up. She said I should come stay with her until the storm blew over. She said she had a really bad feeling and it wasn't safe for young women to be wandering around the island. She was nice. She had a cat named Flounder. And she let me eat as many Oreo cookies as I wanted. We watched a marathon of Monk on TV."

Brittany was turned around in her seat talking and that's why she almost hit someone.

It was Jesse. He stumbled onto the road in front of the bus, trying to wave it down. A group stumbled out of the van.

Jesse looked roughed up. He was covered with cuts and bruises and his hands were still tied up with rope. He was waving a knife in his tied up hands so people stayed back. "I've been looked up in a closet…for…I don't know. Help me,"

Rachel ran to his side and Blaine bent down to help Jesse up when he fell over.

"I was in the kitchen with you…" He turned to Blaine. "I wrote help me on the table. I"

"No you didn't." Brody came forward. "That was Sterling and me…"

"It's him!" Jesse shrieked and looked terrified. "It's him!" Jesse shrieked pointing at Brody. "He's the one who locked me up. He…" Suddenly Jesse, hands still tied, ran at Bode with the knife. Getting his captor right in the throat. Brody bled out in seconds.

Jesse fell to his knees. He was sobbing. He sputtered out. "They had some special plan for us. The pavilion. They were going to stage Phantom of the Opera with our dead bodies." He looked up at Rachel and Blaine and began crying so hard he could no longer talk. "I…"

Blaine went and put his arm around Jesse lifting him up. "C'mon, we can't stand around out here. We've got to get out of here." Rachel held Jesse's hand and the two of them led Jesse back to the van. Everyone else climbed in around them. Kurt knew he should feel sorry for Jesse but all he felt was a pang of jealousy when Blaine sat down next to the older boy.

Brittany peeled away before everyone was seated and soon they were deep in the swamps barreling along. The storm had begun again. The rain was pelting down and lightning flashed like crazy all around them. The thunder was almost simultaneous.

Blaine looked over at Kurt. Out of the blue, Kurt's scary movie rules started running through his head. "Never split up. There is always a surprise ending. Try not to be surprised. Kill the bad guy and then kill him again and again and again."

Something didn't feel right. His skin was beginning to crawl and more than anything he wished he was next to Kurt instead of Jesse. Blaine's stomach lurched. He pulled his hand away from where it had been resting soothingly on Jesse's arm reached his hand back but the countertenor couldn't reach him.

Brittany slammed on the breaks coming this close to hitting the stranger standing in the middle of the road. They all looked up into the maniacal grin of Mayor Cornish. He held up a whirring chain saw.

"Hit him!" Everybody screamed. And Brittany did hit him. Over and Over and Over and Over again. Back and Forth. Reverse and Drive until the car was thoroughly stuck.

At first no one dared go outside, but finally Blaine jumped up too uncomfortable to stay seated one more minute. The others climbed out sheepish and uncertain. First they bend over the body. Dead. Definitely dead and then the Warblers rolled the body off the edge of the road and into the swamp where it slowly sank.

Mercedes watched entranced at the bubbles that gurgled up around the disappearing corpse. Then a hand exploded out of the water, grabbed her by the ankle and pulled her in.

Mercedes' earsplitting scream roused everyone from their shock. They grabbed for Mercedes while Puck kicked at the hand attached to her until it released and finally sank. Everyone got as far from the waters edge as possible and crowded behind the vehicle. "Push!" Finn yelled and everyone helped rock the car back and forth except Jesse who had starting singing The Music of the Night in an eerie, detached voice.

Blaine and Rachel were the first to look behind them. Blaine skin crawled again and he knew that the surprises weren't over.

"You two were to be the stars of the show. I don't think it's too late." And the knife shot out again. Blaine felt a huge pain sear his arm. Rachel screamed. Jesse had taken her into a chokehold and now had the knife to her throat.

"I always win." Jesse informed everyone, now perfectly poised and smiling cockily. He reached into his pocket and pulled out another knife. "Now you will help me. Finn you are still in love with Rachel. If you don't finish Blaine off right now I'll kill her."

There was a gasp. Rachel's suddenly belted out a high C, throwing her head back and knocking Jesse a little off balance. Finn threw the knife like it was a football and he was making a pass to his wide receiver. The knife flew right between Jesse's ribs. He fell over but he was laughing.

"It doesn't end like this." He laughed. "We all know this isn't how it ends."

Everyone remembered Kurt's last rule. Kill the bad guy over and over and over. But none of them could bring themselves to do it. None of them were killers.

A huge green form exploded out of the water, lunging right for Jesse, huge powerful jaws snapped shut around him. Blood Spurted. Jesse let out an inhuman scream and then as if in slow motion the croc slid back into the swamp dragging the killer with him. They both disappeared into the water. Neither one reappeared.

"I think we've followed the rules." Kurt muttered and then Brittany hopped back into the driver's seat and the group pushed with all their strength and adrenaline pushing the car thirty yards with them running along side it. Everyone jumped in. And none of them looked back as Brittany raced down the road.


	20. Chapter 20

Last Chapter (Except for the Epilogue)

The minivan bumped a long for a moment.

"Is it finally over?" Santana asked.

"I think it is finally over." Kurt said.

"I guess that means that we are all the stars of the show." Wes joked.

"Yeah, I didn't think I had enough lines to qualify," David joked again.

"I still don't know if people know who I am," Jason quipped.

"Guys, you are the senior council for the Warblers. Of course you are important." Blaine reached up and clapped their shoulders.

"I feel like we should celebrate or something," Finn said.

"There's got to be a song that expresses how we are feeling right now." Rachel announced.

"Got my guitar," Puck announced. He started strumming and Rachel began to sing,

"Safe in Your Arms" by Paula Cole

Sometimes I'm too bold for my own good,

I go out swinging hard and fast.

This world is beating me broken.

I need a home to rest.

Too quick in the first round,

Too slow in the second,

Now I'm here in the third,

And I need your attention.

With everyone joining in on the chorus…

I wanna be safe in your arms,

I wanna be safe in your arms,

I wanna be safe in your arms,

Safe in our home,

Safe in our land,

Safe in our world,

Safe in your arms.

It don't matter how strong I think I am,

I always need another heart,

To bind me to the moment.

To help me see myself.

Alive in the fourth round,

Collapsed in the fi fth,

Now I'm here in the sixth,

And I need your belief.

I wanna be safe in your arms,

I wanna be safe in your arms,

I wanna be safe in your arms,

Safe in our home,

Safe in our land,

Safe in our world,

Safe in your arms.

(And everybody sings oooh...)

"Guys," Brittany suggested, "Maybe we should wait until we've made it all the way out of the swamp before we start celebrating too much. I think we may be out of gas."

The minivan gave a couple jerky chugs.

"But don't worry, I think I see an abandoned place up ahead."

"What, no!" There was a collective gasp.

Brittany started giggling. "Just kidding, Yo! I'll have you back in Ohio in no time."


	21. Chapter 21

Epilogue

Brittany did end up driving her friends all the way back to Ohio stopping only for gas and food. They were not going to stay in any hotels along the way. The groups quickly went back to normal lives. Except for the exclusive interviews they promised Marty Ramirez, they rarely spoke about their ordeal in the swamps. At least until one fateful sequel when after competing at Nationals they spent the night in a hotel in a remote mountain Colorado town during a blizzard. (But that's another story.)

Miss Olivia was shot dead by the mayor of her former hometown. Her body fell off the boat and into the swamp. It was never found.

Marty Ramirez recovered from his injuries and published a book. It covered the killing spree of 1991 and the killing spree of 2011. It did out one famous Miss Olivia Divinity Wharton. The book was an absolute blockbuster. Marty made additional millions touring all the talk and news shows. Then he retired with a secret new lady. One who wanted to spend a couple years and the money he made on the book finding what she really wanted to do with the rest of her new (married) life.

Cranesbill never did recover. Their last ditch attempt was kind of a musical disaster.


End file.
